


The Magic in You

by Mona (RJ92)



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: A little angst but a lot of fluff to even it out, Agender Frisk, Bad Jokes, Don't wanna give away too much in the tags, Dream Sex (eventually), Dream Sharing, F/F, F/M, FINALLY SOME BACKGROUND, Female Reader, Frisk is Readers best friend, Frisk is a flirt, Frisk is physically male, Goat Mom Is Best Mom, I can't pun, I'm Bad At Tagging, Jokes so awful you're gonna wish you never read this, Magic, Papyrus loves cuddling and will legit cuddle anyone, Platonic Relationships, Sans and reader are gonna be kinda jerkish to each other, Seriously terrible jokes, Slow Burn, because romance ain't gonna happen right away, but that's ok, but there will be smut eventually, for now have some silliness, tied only with Papyrus, yellow soul reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-09
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-02-12 17:45:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 38,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12964932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RJ92/pseuds/Mona
Summary: Ten years after monsters returned to the surface after centuries of imprisonment, they've finally obtained equal rights. One year after they returned, magic began manifesting in the souls of those humans descended from the original seven mages that sealed them away. You're one of them.Or...In which you find yourself renting out your spare rooms to the former queen of monsters and the monster ambassador whose skeleton friend may as well have taken up residence on your couch. Doesn't he have a home to go to or something?





	1. Introductions

**Author's Note:**

> This fic will focus on a Sans/Reader relationship with possible side relationships sprinkled through the story. Suggestions are welcome and encouraged, as well as ideas for scenes you may be interested in seeing. I'll set up a Tumblr ASAP for visual aids and to answer questions and such people might have for this fic.
> 
> As this is the first chapter, it's mostly an introduction to the main character and a little bit of backstory on her. More will be revealed as the story progresses. I hope you enjoy. Please let me know what you think! :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I have a tumblr! It's mostly Undertale related. Anything for this story will be tagged #The Magic In You.
> 
> https://drhughgrection.tumblr.com/

The hot water pounding on your back relieved the aching muscles. Another night of restless dreams. Would they ever end? You doubted it.

It hadn't always been like this. You used to be able to sleep through the night without waking up a single time. Now you woke up no less than five times a night, startled out of dreams you could never seem to clearly remember. You wished you could -- at least, if you knew what you were dreaming about, you'd know how to handle this.

As it were, the forgotten dreams were draining you dry every day. Your work was starting to suffer from it. _I have to get it together,_ You thought to yourself, standing still under the hard stream of water with your hands tangled in your hair, _I can't keep doing this._ Your work was your life. It was everything you could want for your life.

Of course, your parents didn't agree... then again, you'd stopped caring what they thought years ago. Specifically, ten years ago, when the monsters broke the barrier and returned to the surface after centuries of imprisonment.

You jerked your hands down from your hair and quickly grabbed the bottle of conditioner from the corner shelf in the shower and squirted more than you needed directly onto your scalp. It had a light scent, nothing overpowering. That's how you liked it. Strong scents just... Your hands worked the conditioner through your locks almost angrily, trying to distract yourself from where those thoughts were going.

Your nails scratched your scalp but did little to redirect your attention. As soon as the conditioner had been rinsed out, you twisted the handle for the water from the far left (the hottest temperature) to the far right (the coldest) to give your body a jolt. Immediately after, you pushed the knob in and cut off the water. There were a few last trickles then a loud sort of splooshing sound as the bottom faucet to fill the tub released the water sealed inside.

"Time to start the day."

Your towel was where it always was, on the rack above the toilet. You dried yourself quickly then wrapped the towel tight around you to make your way into your bedroom. The mirror was completely fogged over.

Good. You didn't like seeing yourself more than you had to anyway. It wasn't that you were unattractive. No, you thought your body was lovely. So what was your problem with it? Well... it was the way your skin glistened in the light. It was the way those invisible markings covering your skin lit up in the dark.

It was the magic coursing through you.

When the monsters had come up to the surface a decade ago they had brought magic up with them. The humans descended from those seven mages that had sealed them underground had responded. Their souls had awakened and now mages and monsters walked the surface again. It had been more trouble than it was worth and, when you realized that you were one of them, you had locked your soul away and done the best you could to keep your magic secret.

You dropped the towel onto the floor once you had stepped into the walk-in closet attached to your bedroom. You hated that your magic clung to your skin and practically gave itself away. It was why most of your clothing was consisting of long sleeves and pants. No dresses, no skirts, no delicate blouses. Anything that might showcase your mage status was never given a place in your wardrobe. Monsters, mages, and magic might be more common these days, but they were all still feared to an extent. You'd rather not have that fear directed at you.

You knew first hand how people could react when faced with something different. Volatile. Angry. Terrified. So yeah, when you'd come into your magic at the tender age of 14, you had hidden it away. Only your parents and a very few select friends knew and you planned to keep it that way. Now you were 24. So far, so good.

The outfit you chose was pulled on in silence. The mid-December weather was bitter and unforgiving. Yet, somehow, the frost and snow never gave you any trouble. You seemed to thrive in it and your outfit reflected that. A pair of soft black leggings hugged your calves beneath a pair of shorts that reached the middle of your thighs. They, too, clung to your curves but were made of a soft stretchy denim/spandex material. An off colored gray shirt was tucked in loosely, a large diamond emblem printed on the chest.

A pair of plain black leather boots covered your feet up to your ankles and a blue hoodie was all you donned to keep warm. It had been your brothers at one point. He'd chosen it ironically, saying that he had to know how to blend in with the enemy if he wanted to get any good info out of them. You'd described it once as hideous. Now.. Now, you thought, even with the faded stain centered in the back, you thought it was the most beautiful thing you'd ever seen.

"Don't." You scolded yourself, hands shaking faintly as you pulled the front together and drew the zipper closed up to your collar. The fur on the hood had long since lost its once pristine tan color. Now it was faded, splotchy, and discolored. You'd never been able to completely get the red out and now it was an ugly brown along the upper edge. Some spots were even barren of fur completely from how hard you'd scrubbed at it.

Brian's death had been hard. Not just on you, but also on your parents. He'd been only 17. Like you, he'd also been a mage. Only, he'd never fully come into his magic. A reckless driver had cut him down in his youth. You... you hadn't reacted to the news well. It had happened just a few months after the monsters came up to the surface.

Drawing the hood up over your head, you tried to inhale the scent that had long since faded. Brian might not be here any more, but _you_ were. He wouldn't want you to let yourself fall into a downward spiral over him. He'd loved you so much. You'd loved him more.

The scent might be gone but his memory wasn't. He was with you in your heart and that was all that mattered. You shoved your hands into the pockets and made your way into the bedroom to grab your wallet, keys, and phone. You shot off a quick text to Maggie, your best friend since diapers, to let her know that you were on your way and got an almost immediate response. A short series of emojis, mostly musical notes and a lone coffee mug at the end.

A smile broke through the cloud of gloom filling your head and you made your way through the house to the front door, stuffing your earbuds into your ears and putting your music on shuffle. You locked up the house and made your departure, taking a moment to appreciate the fine leather interior of your vibrant orange convertible.

"Still got that new car smell." Your music blared through your earbuds as you drove, taking you away from memories that you couldn't forget and dreams you couldn't remember. Maybe Maggie would have some good news for you regarding the roommate ad that you had asked her to look into.

You just wished that was the only news she had for you.


	2. Naps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I've started putting up a few visual aides on my Tumblr. I'll be posting some concept art for characters as well, at some point.
> 
> Also, Toriel and Frisk will be introduced in the next chapter! Soon, the whole gang will be around and things can start getting a little more interesting. These first few chapters are mostly just to set up the basics and introduce some of the main characters that aren't canon... but most of the characters will be, so no worries about clogging up the fic with NPCs.
> 
> Would you like your OC featured in a chapter? Comment here or send me a message on Tumblr and we can discuss details. :) Thanks!
> 
> https://drhughgrection.tumblr.com/

"Tell me ya got good news for me, Maggie. Magster. Magnus. C'mon, girl!"

You had arrived at Maggie's small shop, Webbs and Wands, just a few minutes after it opened. It was a... uh.. you didn't want to call it an occult shop, but it definitely catered to the mages and wanna-be witches in town. You settled on calling it 'eclectic' and 'interesting'. Maggie Webbs, who the store was named after, was even more so. Despite having only come into her own magic a few years ago she had already made a name for herself.

That being said, you tended to avoid getting too involved with magic in part of your personal of preferences so you didn't know exactly what all she had her hands in. You knew enough to know you didn't want to know more. She respected that.

"Wellll, I do have news! You want the good news or the bad news first?" Maggie's short, dark hair was cut into a chin length layered kind of style, pushed back with a strap of pale tan leather. A few curls had escaped the confinement and hung lazily against her forehead, covering the spattering of freckles in some spots. She was a shorter woman of an almost anorexic thin build. She was not pretty in a typical sense, but you thought she was in her own way.

She was clothed in a simple light blue tee with white lace embroidery around the collar, blue jeans, and a pair of fuzzy white slippers. You liked her simpleness... until she got that glint in her eye. Yeah, that one, the same one she had tight now.

"Maggs..." You groaned out, leaning against the counter and stretching your torso across it. Your chin rest on the opposite side and you looked up at her with a pleading look in your eye. "Don't do this to me, my little heart can't take it. Just... do it quick, like a band-aid!" You mimed a quick ripping motion then huffed out a sigh.

Taking pity on you, Maggie set down the small stack of leather-bound books onto the counter beside you then reached up to adjust her headband. "Okay. Good news is, I found you a roommate."

You perked up, grinning. Your blue eyes almost sparkled at the news. This was great! You'd finally be able to rent out one of the spare rooms! "That's great, when can th--"

"Bad news is they're a monster."

You jerked up as though the counter had jerked you. Your eyes darkened and your expression soured. It wasn't that you had anything against monsters as a whole, it was just that you didn't know how to act around them. They hated mages. You were a mage.

Maggie was quick to try and soothe your ruffled feathers, reaching forward to grasp one of your hands with one of her. You could feel her magic pulsing through her fingers. She didn't actively use it on you, but you could still sense it there. "Now, (Y/N), hear me out. I know that you've had some... hesitation... about monsters before... but I promise this one is really nice. Her name is Toriel and--"

You interrupted again, expression suddenly much more interested (and, if possible, more shocked than before). " _Toriel_? As in, former queen of all of monsterkind Toriel? That Toriel?"

"Yes. And if you'd stop interrupting me, please..." Maggie snipped back at you, her fingers squeezing around yours. You returned the grip, thankful for her grounding touch. "Toriel's place is undergoing some serious work right now, so she and her kid, Frisk -- you know the one, you've seen the news reports -- need a place to stay for a few months. Three or four at the max."

"How'd you even meet her?" You asked, suddenly wondering, and reminding yourself that you really didn't want to know what Maggie did in her free time but being unable to stop yourself from asking anyway, how someone like the queen of monsters would even know about you.

"She brought Frisk in a few days ago and we struck up some conversation. She mentioned that they were looking for temporary housing since their house is being remodeled and I thought, hey, now there's an idea! So.. I told her about you and that you were looking for someone to live in that big ol' house with you." Maggie held her breath almost awkwardly.

You slowly drew your hands back and crossed your arms, frowning. On one hand, you really wanted someone to take that room. You owned the house, but it honestly was lonely. You didn't exactly have many friends and the ones you did have were dead set on staying where they were. You understood that. Once a mage set up shop, they would not want to move again. Hell, it was why you were advertising for a roommate.

Your house was directly atop of a leyline. Even if you didn't actively tap into your magic, it was still a part of you that you could not deny. Your home was your safe haven. It was probably the safest place in the city. Maybe... Maybe you wouldn't mind sharing that safety with someone.. with a monster, even.

"... FINE."

Maggie grinned and slapped her hands down onto the counter several times quickly. "Awesome! I'll give her a call in a bit and let her know she can stop by to scope out the place."

"Alright, but I gotta work tonight. Let her know I'll be home tomorrow morning. Any time after 7 works." You leaned over the counter to wrap your arms around your friend. The embrace was warm and comforting. You.. actually had a good feeling about this! From what you'd seen on the many news channels and reports over the years, Toriel had seemed to be pretty calm and friendly.

You adjusted your hoodie and brushed your hair back over your shoulders. It had once been silvery white. Now it was more of a platinum blonde. You made a mental note to hit up the hair dresser later. Your roots were showing.

Several hours later you had finished your errands. There weren't that many -- the main one was getting your roots redone. Finally back home you were able to relax and go over your set for the night, wanting to make sure that there wouldn't be any issues.

You loved your job. You were a DJ. Not just for any place. Nah, you worked for the exclusive Club Magenta. It was, obviously, a very private place. You loved the energy that filled the place and you loved the energy you could give to it. It was the one place you were comfortable with your magic. There was no need to hide it there. You might have been concerned at one time about it, yeah, but after working there for several years you'd grown to love it.

As much as you didn't want to admit it, you lived on the rush that using magic gave you. It wasn't safe to let your magic build up. Actually, if a mage didn't use their magic in one way or another, it would slowly collect inside their soul and eventually burst. The results were usually fatal. So you let it all out at the club or in the privacy of your home. Sometimes, when you weren't feeling up to expending any of your power, you were able to direct it down and out of your body directly into the leyline beneath the house.

Giving power back to the earth was harder than taking it. It left you exhausted and lethargic. A small price to pay, you often reminded yourself, in exchange for keeping yourself from overloading. Maybe one day you would have more confidence in yourself that you wouldn't have to resort to that. Today was not that day.

You packed up your laptop and portable soundboard and placed them on the floor next to the bedroom door. A quick glance at the glowing white numbers of the alarm clock sitting on your bedside table showed it was nearing 3 in the afternoon.

"Hmm... I guess I could take a nap before I go in... get some dinner first..." So you did. A quick meal of boxed mac and cheese, the kind with the thick liquid cheese instead of the powdered kind, sufficed for a late lunch slash early dinner. After you gave your teeth a quick brushing then dropped into bed after setting your alarm for 9 PM.

If you had any dreams, you couldn't remember them upon waking... but the thin sheen of sweat on your brow and between your shoulder blades suggested that they had not been pleasant.


	3. Yo.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First impressions are hard.

"Tori, you know you don't gotta do this..."

Toriel paused in her packing, looking over at her long-time friend. Sans had expressed his opinion of this move more times than she cared to count over the last few weeks. He seemed to be the only one in their close group of friends that had any issue with this.

The skeleton in question was seated at the dining room table, watching Toriel gather the last few trinkets off the shelves in the living room. His grin was there, as it always was, but it didn't reach his eyesockets. The lights in the dark pits were small, imperfect circles. More like ovals drawn in with a shaky pencil. He had a bottle of ketchup in hand, but had stopped drinking from it several minutes ago.

"Sans, my dear friend..." Toriel carefully wrapped a solid glass bird with newspaper before tucking it into the box at her feet. "Must we do this again?"

"Tori... you know you're always welcome to stay with Paps an' I, right? It's just... ya don't even know this person. For all we know, they could be some kinda...." He trailed off, not wanting to be flat out rude and call them a freak or a weirdo, but the thought crossed his mind.

"Sans." Toriel's tone was gentle, but firm, and caused the annoyed skeleton to snap his teeth together. "You know your apartment isn't large enough for Frisk and I. I appreciate your kind offer, but I think this will be a good change for us."

She knelt down to scoop up the box and carried it to the table. Sans looked up at her with something akin to a grimace on his face before pressing the top of the ketchup bottle to his teeth and tipping it up to take another mouthful. It vanished before it got far past his teeth and he took the time to silently grumble to himself.

"Look, Tori, I get it, I do, really... Jus'... What about stayin' with Undyne and Alphys?"

The queen picked up the taping tool from the table and quickly secured the cardboard box shut with several layers of tape across the top in one direction, then another several in the other. This was the last box. She smoothed her furred hands over the tape, attempting to smooth out any small air bubbles that were trapped.

"They haven't the room either, Sans. I know you're... wary... of humans, especially with everything that's been happening these last few months, but I simply must insist on this. Maggie has been beyond helpful."

Tch. Sans had met Maggie. The woman was a mage and, while she'd been friendly enough, it was hard for him to openly trust a human... much less a dirty mage.

Sans squeezed his bottle a little tighter but forced himself to relax his phalenges as much as he could. The plastic creaked against his palm in relief. Of course he knew Tori was right. She always was.

"I jus' don't wanna see you or the kid get hurt." He muttered, grin finally dropping and a new wariness weighing his bones down until he slumped down into his seat. He nearly jumped when Toriel's hand covered his around the ketchup.

"If it would make you feel better, we're going to meet them tomorrow morning. You may accompany us, if you wish." Toriel waited patiently as he rolled the idea around in his skull. Did he really want to meet this human?

No, not really, but it _would_ put him at ease to at least make sure they didn't have any less than favorable intentions.

"... Yeah. Sounds good. I'll meetcha there."

"Delightful! I shall text you the address... and please, for everyone's sake, play nice."

_Meanwhile_

You'd had to take another quick shower before leaving for work that night. The cold sweat you'd woken in had left you feeling pretty gross, but the hot shower had done little to help. You didn't have time to dawdle though. You had a job to do and the drive took nearly half an hour on its own (and that was if you got lucky and hit every green light on the way).

Club Magenta lived up to its name. Inside, anyway! The exterior was plain red brick with no actual sign depicting what the building was. It was tucked away between two other similar buildings, easily overlooked. It wasn't in the best of neighborhoods but, you reminded yourself, places like these never were. These were the safest places for your kind.

For mages.

Covens and clans were few and far between. There had been a few attempts from small groups of mages banding together in order to establish their own sort of system, but the government had quickly shut it down. Now you were all required to register your mage status, just like monsters had been required to register themselves and their own magic. While you were technically registered, you were not eager to let anyone outside of your very few close friends know... and most of them only knew because they'd had been forced to register as well.

The mage registry was a closely guarded list. The monster registry was not. You'd never seen the fairness in that and, honestly, as much as you disliked monsters in general, your soul demanded something be done. It demanded **justice**.

"Alright, alright, testing, one-two!" You made yourself comfortable in the DJ booth, situated several feet higher than the rest of the tables and booths on the main floor. The outside of the club might be boring and drab, but the inside was a rush of colors and lights. Booths lined both sides of the wide room, leaving the center floor open and clear for dancing.

Club Magenta had two floors -- the main floor was where the DJ booth, bar, booths, and dancefloor was. The upper floor wrapped around the room as a sort of loft/balcony. Most of the seating on the upper floor was VIP exclusive. The rest of the floor above, spread out evenly along the left and right, held three curtain shielded 'rooms' on both sides for the more private shows.

It wasn't a strip club but you'd be lying if you said that those rooms were for innocent purposes.

"So, a toothless termite walks into a bar and asks, hey, is the bar tender here?"

A collective groan from the employees finishing up the prep for the night sounded. You grinned wide at the noise and hooked up your soundboard to the main part of your system. Just a few more adjustments and you were ready to go. You quickly found your playlist for the night and clicked start. It'd start out quiet for the employees but once the doors opened at 11 the music would start for real.

You could already feel your magic pulsing in your fingertips in your excitement. God, you'd never get tired of this. Music made you feel so... so _alive_ and wonderful. Your magic had always found its home in music. You could say that it was your trigger. You had pretty terrible control over it when you didn't have any music to work with.

Which, you meant, you couldn't use your magic _at all_ without it.

You cracked more terrible jokes as the clock drew nearer to opening, getting more groans, a few frustrated shouts, and even some jokes in return. They were all just as bad as each other and every single one of them left you laughing.

Ten minutes until the doors opened for the night, Barry slipped his way into the booth and stood beside you as you finished setting up.

Barry was a tall monster that towered over you at an impressive 8'5". You didn't know what sort of monster he was. Some sort of hybrid, you secretly thought. You were probably wrong, though. Monsters didn't seem to have much similarity to each other aside from the more feral types like Froggits and Loox.

If you had to try and describe him, you would say he was a mix of a hyena and a kangaroo. His upper body was that of a striped hyena. His coloring was a base of silvery-gray with dark soot stripes and a white mohawk mane of hair that ran from the top of his head down to the end of the large tail that thumped on the floor behind him. That tail and his body from his waist down was purely kangaroo.

You'd never seen anyone run (er.. hop?) faster than him. He was physically strong and had demonstrated his strength time and time again. As head of security, it was his job to make sure that you were not bothered during your scheduled three hours a night... and he did a damn good job at it, too.

"Barry!" You exclaimed in delight at seeing your favorite bouncer, _Haha, because he's a kangaroo!_ , and craned your head to look up at him. He huffed out his usual gruff hello before handing you a plain white envelope with your name scrawled lazily on the front.

"From the boss, (Y/N). Special request inside, too, so make sure ya read it before the end of your set. 'Parently the boss is bringin' his girl in tonight and plans on poppin' the question."

Barry's golden eyes twinkled with what you could only describe as pure mirth and his grin stretched across his muzzle, splitting his muzzle with a pointy strip of dark beige teeth. The 'whites' of his eyes were the same pale brown, which you thought was pretty neat.

"Ah, man, for real? It's about time! What's it been? Seven years?"

"Eight."

"Eight years!" Your broad grin rivalled his own and he patted the top of your head affectionately with an oversized paw. "They already got a kid and another on the way. Dunno why he waited this long. Consider it done, Big Boy. Y'know I'm a sucker for a happy ending."

 

The first two hours and twenty minutes of your shift flew by. Forty minutes until the end you switched your personal playlists out for the one on the flash drive (it was in the envelope, along with your pay for the evening). The change in music was a little sharp but no one made any complaints.

"Alright, folks! Y'all know what time it is... We got some special people in the club tonight. You know what _that_ means!~" You sang the last few words excitedly, your voice moving through the crowd. The music stayed the same volume but somehow you were able to cut through it to be heard clearly through the entire room.

"Time for you to grab your partner and slide onto the dancefloor! The first dedication of tonight goes out to..."

And so the dedicated songs went out to various people in the club, most met with cheers and others with a few groans. Some were cheesy, some were amazing. Others were easily forgettable. The last song, the one you'd been instructed to save for last, began its intro and gradual buildup.

"And saving the best for last! A personal favorite of mine, dedicated to the gorgeous Miss Tilly from the boss man himself." You adjusted the microphone in hand, the other moving to the controls on the rather confusing keyboard in front of you. "Miss Tilly, this is for you."

The woman in question had looked up from her place behind the bar, her hands stilling as she glanced between you and her long time boyfriend, the big boss -- Jaques Varcelli. She was a homely girl, average in appearance. She sported a tightly wound bun atop her head, her dark curls pinned back wherever they attempted an escape. Her eyes were a bright blue that sparkled in the lights shining down from above.

Like every other employee she sported the same uniform. A simple white button up blouse, tight black dress pants, and slip resistent shoes. Unlike the others, she wore an apron around her waist which, admittedly, had seen better days if the unidentified stains were any indication.

Tilly looked over at her boyfriend from where she stood, understanding igniting in her eyes.

She carefully put down the cup she'd been drying and eased around the bar to approach Jaques. On cue, he lowered himself down onto one knee and proposed with a ring that glinted in the flashing lights. You smiled wide, giving a happy cheer. Before you knew it, your work was done and you were packing up for the long ride home.

You wouldn't learn until a few days later that Tilly had said no.

 

"This is the place?"

Sans stared up at the house with something akin to disbelief in his eyesockets. When Toriel had sent him the address and told him what time to be there (who in Asgore's name was up at 7 AM on a Saturday and, furthermore, up and ready for visitors?!) he'd thought she'd been joking.

She had not, and had once again reminded him to play nice. Toriel stood outside the front door of the home with Sans just a few steps behind her. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his hoodie.

The house itself was.... rather plain, actually. Toriel said as much to Sans quietly, actually hesitating to knock. This was not what she had expected. It wasn't that the house was rundown or in disrepair, it was just that it was much.. uh.. _smaller_ than she'd been led to believe from her conversations with Maggie.

"Boring, more like." The skeleton shuffled up beside the former queen and, as if sensing her hesitation, reached up a bony hand to knock sharply on the wooden door.

Immediately, Toriel straightened up and folded her hands in front of her, tucking them into her sleeves. She wanted to make a good first impression. You only got one of those, after all. Sans, on the other hand, was comfortable slouching with his chin dipped down to allow the thick off-white fur of his hood to tickle his jaw.

It was go time.

The monsters only had a few seconds to put themselves together before the door was thrown open and their host stood before them, dressed in crumpled and creased sleepwear and a pair of orange slippers fuzzy enough to rival Sans' own.

"Yo."


	4. Need to Know Information

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sans and Toriel get the grand tour and some uncomfortable conversation takes place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope these chapters aren't feeling too rushed. I have so many ideas for this fic and so many of them can't be written yet because they happen after some important plot progression. Feel free to leave a comment!
> 
> Visit my Tumblr for visual aides and possible story snippets!
> 
> https://drhughgrection.tumblr.com/
> 
> I might also be looking for someone to bounce some ideas off of... so if you're interested in that, just let me know. Thanks!~

Yo?

_FREAKING YO?!_

Your face burned bright in embarrassment. You literally could have said anything other than 'yo' but you were just so tired. Sleep had not come easily and when it finally had you'd dreamt of.. you weren't sure. Something white and cold. Snow? You could still feel the frost on the tip of your nose and taste the ozone on your tongue.

"Yo, kid."

Your eyes snapped to the skeleton monster standing beside Toriel, wide in surprise. You hadn't even noticed him at first. He wasn't very tall (actually, he was almost exactly your own height, which really wasn't saying much, only surpassing you by _maybe_ an inch) and he was sort of stout. You suspected most of his bulk was from the oversized hoodie and shorts he wore.

Shorts? In December?

"A-Ah... Hi. Sorry." You cleared your throat awkwardly and stepped back, mumbling a proper greeting and inviting them inside. Toriel accepted with a smile and paused just inside the door. Sans stayed outside, watching his friend enter first before cautiously stepping in after her. You closed the door behind him a little more sharply than you meant to, but made no apology.

Sans' grin nearly slipped. There was something about this house that made him uneasy. He felt like he was back Underground again and the thought gave him a fleeting moment of panic. Toriel didn't seem to notice anything off-putting. In fact, she seemed thrilled to be here.

You reached up your hands and began combing your fingers through your hair, trying in vain to separate the tangles your fingers snagged. "Hi. Again. You're Toriel. Maggie said you'd be coming by. So... let's get right to business then, yeah?"

Toriel's smile widened and you saw a peek of fangs behind her smile. Your mouth went dry. Right. Monsters. "Soon, my dear. I am indeed Toriel. It is a pleasure to finally meet you. Your friend, Maggie, was quite enthusiastic about you." Her eyes traveled over your disheveled pajamas and frizzy hair -- could humans naturally have such shiny silver hair? -- and lingered on the slippers covering your feet.

She towered over you by a good two heads. Your head had to tip up to look her in the eye. She was much larger in person than she appeared to be on television.

"Y-Yeah.. You too? I mean, it's... It's nice to meet you, too." Ugh, you were stuttering. You'd thought she'd be less intimidating. At least she didn't come off as aggressive. You knew monsters weren't inherently like that, but in you'd met several who had taken one look at you and turned up their noses. Snout. Muzzle. Whatever it was, they had turned it up at you!

Toriel's smile was kind and patient. Motherly, even. You risked a glance over at Sans, seeing his own grin. It was much more forced and he was watching you like a hawk. His stance was casual and relaxed but something in your gut really didn't like how he was looking at you.

Like he was the predator and you were the prey.

A static feeling rushed across your spine and you straightened up, thrusting out a hand to Toriel. You would pointedly ignore the skeleton for now. He didn't seem to have any problem doing the same to you.

"I do hope we didn't arrive at a bad time. Maggie said any time after seven would be good... I could come back later, if --"

"Oh! No, no, it's okay." Toriel's large (soft!) paw wrapped around your hand gently and gave a squeeze. You did your best not to shudder at the contact. _Stop that,_ You scolded yourself. _Toriel isn't **him**... She didn't do anything to make you think so negatively of her. Be kind._

"I'm really glad you're interested in the room. It's hard to find good roommates these days, what with all the, ah..." Your voice trailed off, not needing to continue that line of conversation. Toriel's eyes softened a little and her grip on your hand tightened just a smidge. Then she released you and you grinned up at her.

So far, so good. You stole a glance at the skeleton only to find him sprawled out on your couch. Toriel followed your gaze and laughed.

"Yes. I would presume that Maggie did inform you that it is not just myself. My child will be with me."

Now that caught your attention. You would let Sans make himself one with the couch for now, more interested in what Toriel was saying.

"Your child? As in Frisk?"

The goat monster nodded, seemingly pleased that you knew of them. As if you couldn't. The child who, at the young age of only _nine years old_ , had single handedly freed the monsters from a centuries long imprisonment.

Yeah, you knew of them.

"Right... Frisk... Actually, Maggie didn't mention them. That's okay, though. I've actually got two rooms, but only one is ready for immediate occupancy. The second room is sort of my work studio right now, but I can clear it out for you?"

Toriel shot a look over at Sans when she heard him mutter something, her eyes narrowing a fraction but her smile remained friendly and polite. "Yes, that would be wonderful! Please. May we move to the first room? I would like to see everything before we make any sort of arrangement."

You nodded in agreement, more than aware that Sans was giving you the stink-eye from all the way across the living room. He'd practically melted into the couch last time you'd glanced his way but now he was quite suddenly right behind Toriel. There was a crackling static feeling of magic radiating off of him but you gave no indication that you noticed it. You might ask later, but for now, magic was the last thing you wanted to discuss.

You and Goat Mom made easy conversation. During the course of the tour, you found that you had more in common than you'd initially thought. You both enjoyed baking and music, mostly. Like you, Toriel also collected old books and music records, though she admitted that hers were very outdated and could use some fine tuning.

Sans joined in on the conversation only once in a while, usually with some god awful pun only to have one of your own immediately shot back at him without pause. At the end of your tour you invited them both to sit and at least have a cup of coffee ("I would prefer tea, if you wouldn't mind too much, dear." and "Nah, ain't much for coffee... got any ketchup?" respectively).

Your trio retired to the living room where you took up the single armchair nearest the entertainment center pressed against the wall that separated your bedroom from the rest of the main room. Toriel claimed the loveseat and Sans returned to a lump of blue hoodie and pink slippers on the couch.

You decided that you didn't really like Sans all that much. He was far too comfortable in your home and you didn't like that he had already openly used his magic. You'd felt that static feeling earlier. He'd done something and you particularly disliked the way it left what you could only describe as a residue on your skin.

"This is such a lovely home you have, (Y/N)." Toriel took a long sip from her mug of spiced chai tea that had far too much cinnamon in it, in your opinion. She was looking around, taking in the clean, crisp look of the homes interior. You weren't much for excessive decorating so the walls were mostly barren.

"I must ask you something. Please do tell me if I'm crossing a line with this..." You looked up from your coffee and looked between her and Sans. He was still grinning. His bottle of ketchup was almost empty.

"what's with the whole Tardis thing you got goin' on here?" You almost dropped your mug. Toriel huffed in annoyance. He did not apologize. " 'cuz this place isn't that nice on the outside and it's small, too. so what's goin' on with that? how's it so much bigger inside?"

You drained your mug in three large gulps, ignoring the uncomfortable burn of the hot liquid as it rushed down your throat. Of course they'd notice that.

"Well, _Sans_ , since you're so observant," You tried, and failed, to keep the irritation out of your voice, ".... Magic." Jazz hands! His brow bones shot up (how?!) and his grin became strained.

"... magic."

"Yes. The house is directly over one of the largest leylines in this city. Look, I'm really not comfortable talking about magic and all that stuff, and honestly? I don't know you, like, at all, so I don't feel like I need to give you an explanation."

Toriel gave you a curious side-glance but did not push for information. You could tell that Sans wanted to but you were quick to lean forward and set your mug on the square glass coffee table with a sharp clack. "I'm a mage. Figure you ought to know if you're still interested in taking those rooms."

Sans sat up abruptly, the ketchup bottle being squeezed to the point of denting.

"Oh, it's alright, dear. Maggie has already informed me of your mage status. It does not bother me at all."

Your shoulders sagged in relief and you sent her a grateful smile. "That's... that's great, Toriel. It's such a relief to hear you say that. I know monsters and mages have a pretty colorful history together."

Your soul burned at the injustice that monsters had faced so long ago. All because humanity was afraid of something they didn't fully understand. It wasn't fair.

Tori drained her mug and set it down beside yours.

"So... when shall we move in?"


	5. Move In Day

When Toriel asked when they could move in, you expected her to take a few days to finish packing. You didn't expect her to move in the very next day.

Your life went from relatively quiet and private to suddenly very boisterous and _uncomfortably exposed_. Turns out that Toriel already had everything immediately important packed up. She'd put everything else in storage, she'd informed you, explaining that they would be bringing only their basic needs with them.

That turned out to be more than you'd consider 'basic'. Sure, there were their beds, bedroom lamps, night stands, and wardrobes in way of furniture. Boxes of clothing, bedding, toiletries -- of course, as expected.

A dozen boxes of books, trinkets (you lost count of how many snail figurines Toriel had collected somewhere after forty), and more paintings than you'd ever seen outside of a thrift shop were among the unexpected.

You tried to keep your huffing to a minimum as you hefted another box from the back of a moving truck. It felt like it weighed fifty pounds. An elegant scrawl on the top labeled it as 'joke books'. You wondered if Toriel would let you borrow a few of them later.

You didn't have more than a few seconds to think about it before a pair of large red gloved hands plucked the box from your grasp. Following the gloves up to a pair gleaming white bone arms and farther, you found yourself staring up (and up... and up...) at a skeleton whose wide grin reminded you of Sans.

Toriel did tell you that she would be having help from friends to move. You just... How did you _not_ realize that they would be monsters? God, you could be a birdbrain sometimes.

"Human! Allow me to assist you!" He swept the box up onto a shoulder and stared down at you. Holy crap, he must be at least seven feet tall! He was even taller than Toriel (was that possible?) and it made you feel extremely minuscule in comparison. Regardless of your initial surprise, you grinned up at him and turned back to the truck to get another box, this one labeled as towels and... fur conditioner??

"Thank you! You're, ah... very strong." You held the much lighter box and stepped back as the tall skeleton reached for another box. You didn't want him to overload himself but he seemed more than capable of carrying them both. You still worried.

"Thank you for noticing, new human friend! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, am indeed very strong! You are correct! You are also her majesty's new housemate. It's nice to meet you!"

Boy, he sure was energetic. His voice was loud and a little high pitched in parts but overall pretty pleasant. There an a slight accent there that you couldn't quite place. Come to think of it, almost all the monsters you'd met had that same lilt to their voices. Maybe it was an Underground thing?

You and Papyrus made pleasant conversation as you worked together to bring in the last of the boxes. He insisted on carrying most of them and you were more than happy to let him show off. The two of you met the others inside. Almost everything had been moved into the rooms they belonged in but there were a few boxes cluttering the kitchen counters. Several paintings were already hung up in the hall and around the living room.

You didn't mind too much, but the portrait hung in the living room over the couch drew your attention. It showed a large group. Two large goat monsters, whom you recognized as Toriel and Asgore, the king of monsters, flanked the group. Two skeletons stood side by side next to Toriel and a small human child who was holding a rather grumpy looking potted yellow flower.

Your eyes lingered on the child for a few seconds, the sounds of Papyrus moving around boxes and engaging in energetic conversation with the queen and the tall fish monster who had been the one to drive the moving truck here fading into the background.

You realized that it was Frisk you were staring at. Man, they'd really been young, hadn't they? When you were their age, you'd barely been able to cook scrambled eggs on your own! And there they were, saving monsterkind all by themselves. You tore your eyes away from the painted figure, a hand raising to rub a sudden ache spanning from one shoulder to the opposite hip.

The next people in the portrait were Undyne and Alphys, the royal scientist. They were quite a pair. They were standing side by side, with Undyne's arm wrapped around the blushing yellow drake. The group was huddled together closely.

"Tori sure _paints_ a pretty picture, huh?"

Sans' sudden appearance at your side made you jump and gasp. His ever present grin widened, eyelights sparkling in mirth. You leveled a disapproving stare at him and crossed your arms.

"Yeah." You smirked. "She's _ink_ -credible. A _stroke_ above the rest."

Sans gave a laugh and you wondered how his face was able to move like that. For a skeleton he was sure expressive. Maybe it was a magic thing.

"ya like jokes? i got a skele _ton_ of them." You groaned, the sound matched by Papyrus' own as he passed the hall.

"SAAAANS! NONE OF THAT! WE HAVE WORK TO DO, YOU LAZYBONES!"

"Yeah, Sans, stop messing around and come help!" Undyne stomped into the hall and grabbed Sans by the back of his hoodie. She lifted him effortlessly and tucked him under an arm. He gave a shrug, lifting his hands and huffing out a sigh.

"what can i say? i've worked myself... to the _bone_."

"Booooo!" You gave him a thumbs down, but you were smiling anyway. The ache across your torso faded. You checked outside one last time to make sure all the boxes were brought in before closing the door and making your way to the kitchen.

Toriel was already there, along with Papyrus, both already busy with putting away dishes and cookware. Toriel's stuff looked a lot older than your own -- a lot of the actual pots and pans were actually cast iron, which impressed you. That stuff was difficult to cook on!

Undyne tossed Sans onto the couch and he rolled over onto his back to stare up at the ceiling, eyesockets closing despite Undyne's demands that he get up and make himself useful.

You moved to the fridge to get drinks for everyone. Iced tea for yourself and Papyrus, a can of Sprite for Undyne, and a bottle of ketchup -- only one of what you counted to be nearly a dozen that had appeared in the door of the fridge once Sans had arrived that morning -- for Sans. Toriel had already put on a quaint white kettle full of water to boil. You noticed a steel canister on the counter next to the stove with a faded photo of a golden flower.

You thought it resembled the flower that Frisk was holding in the painting.

After passing around the drinks, you moved to the living room with Sans and dropped the bottle onto his chest. It made a dull thunking sound as the thick material of his jacket absorbed the impact. His hand curled around it and, without opening his eyes, he popped the lid open and began to lazily sip at it.

"Hey, thanks, nerd. How'd'ja know this is my favorite?!" Undyne took the Sprite and slapped her free hand onto your shoulder. She let out a loud laugh and pulled you over to the loveseat, where she dropped onto it and stretched her legs out in front of her. The action pulled you down too and you found yourself closely beside her with her arm over the back of the couch and her boot clad feet carelessly on the edge of the coffee table.

You didn't complain. Undyne was almost as tall as Papyrus and a whole lot more intimidating. You felt an odd sort of kinship with her so you didn't mind being so close. Not that you had any interest beyond that, of course.

"Well, you're just so _Sprite_ ly, it was obvious." Sans snorted into his ketchup. Undyne laughed a little louder.

"SANS, YOU'VE ONLY JUST MET THE HUMAN AND ALREADY SHE'S MAKING PUNS AS AWFUL AS YOURS!" Papyrus sounded upset, but when you looked over at him, you saw he was actually smiling. Catching you looking at him, he put away the last of the pans by tossing them into one of the cabinets next to the oven and bounded over to you.

You barely moved to the side before he leapt over you and landed with a thump between you and Undyne. She didn't seem to notice his enthusiastic joining, and instead started to jabber away with him about next weeks training session. Something about working on building up his endurance?

Toriel took her time preparing her tea before joining the group in the living room. She seated herself comfortably in a large oversized armchair that had a knitted blanket draped across the back. You weren't sure when that seat had been brought in, but it somehow looked right at home there beside your own armchair. You could already imagine her sitting there with a book and cup of hot tea.

She met your eyes and gave you a knowing smile, her tea raised to her mouth with both hands gently holding the cup. It looked tiny in her grasp. You looked from her to Undyne and Papyrus, then to Sans who now appeared to be completely asleep sprawled out on the couch with his bottle of ketchup somehow sticking straight up from between his teeth. You could almost see the sleep bubble inflating and deflating from his nasal cavity.

Yeah. Maybe... Maybe monsters really were made from love and hope. You'd never felt like this amongst humans before.

You could really get used to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Frisk will be introduced in the next chapter. :)
> 
> I've gotten a lot of positive responses to this fic and that makes me feel so good about it. I have plans for it! So expect some ACTUAL plot stuff to start happening in the next chapter or two. Hope you like it!
> 
> Also, big shoutout to @ladyjssem for letting me bounce some ideas off of her. She's got a fantastic Undertale (soulmate AU!) fic out called Freedom of Your Own (http://archiveofourown.org/works/12492276/chapters/28436828) that's an absolute delight to read. Check it out!


	6. Meeting Frisk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you finally meet Frisk and have a mage-to-mage talk.

Frisk was ready to go _home_. They were tired of all the monster-human meetings that they had to attend, they were tired of trying to balance that business with the chaos of college, and they were just _tired in general_. It felt like they hadn't gotten a proper nights sleep in... years.

It was late when Frisk arrived at the house. The place looked.... tiny. After living in such a sprawling estate as the one Toriel owned for ten years, this was a rather unwelcome surprise. _But mom really sang its praises, so it can't be that bad. Maybe it's got an underground level?_

Frisk squared their shoulders, determined to make the best of this. It was only a temporary arrangement anyway, right? Right! They parked their car close to the curb in front of the house, pulled the keys from the ignition, and grabbed their bag from the passenger seat before leaving the vehicle. They took a moment to heft it over their shoulders before stepping around the car and up onto the curb.

Leaves crunched underfoot as the ambassador made their way up to the front door, taking their time to look around and inspect the immediate area.

The house itself had already been established as small and plain. A set of concrete steps lead up to the front door, which was a richly toned wood with a window taking up the upper third to give a peek inside. The lower half of the house seemed to be built out of brick and had faded over the years but otherwise seemed to be kept in decent condition. There were several windows on either side of the door, their dark wood edging contrasting sharply with the off-white paint of the rest of the exterior. Flowerbeds flanked the steps but as far as decorations went that.. was about it, really.

Frisk paused in front of the door and dipped their hand into their pocket to pull out their keys. They jingled quietly as the house key was found and slid into the knob. When they turned it they paused, a chill rushing up their arms and down their spine. Whoa. That was a huge rush of magic.

They withdrew the key slowly, but the feeling remained. It concentrated on the back of their neck and felt heavy. Frisk hesitated before turning the knob and stepping inside. There was a rush that felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over them, followed immediately by a very pleasant warmth that seeped into their bones. The only way that they could describe it was _home_.

As quietly as they could, Frisk closed the door with a soft click. They turned the lock into place and turned to take a look down the hall. This was different. The hall was sort of long for an entryway. It was lined on both sides with photos and paintings. The largest one was the group portrait of their mother, Asgore, them, the skeleton brothers, Alphys, and Undyne.

Their eyes lingered on the potted plant held in young Frisk's arms. Their heart pounded a little harder in their chest as a wash of sadness rushed through them. Flowey had been Frisk's best friend but he had not wanted to come aboveground with them. Maybe someday he would, but right now?

Frisk sighed.

They just wanted to go to bed after the day they'd had, but knew it was unlikely that their room had been put together yet. They moved down the hall, lingering every few feet to look at the framed photos. They did see a new one, at the very end, and that one gave them pause.

It was of Toriel, the skelebros, Undyne, and... who was that? Frisk tried to place where they'd seen the woman before but was drawing a blank. Man, they were too tired for any more thinking. They'd figure it out in the morning. A glance down at the white leather watch wrapped around their wrist showed the time as 2:43 AM. Frisk suppressed a groan.

The house was dark. Made sense. It was almost 3 AM. Who would be up at this hour? Toriel had likely retired for the night early on. Frisk wished they'd been there to help move everything, but Toriel had insisted that they not worry about it and instead focus on their schoolwork. They'd had a big project due and two other presentations on top of it. They really didn't need to worry about moving.

Something did strike Frisk as odd -- the house was definitely much larger on the inside. _Actually, the inside doesn't match up with the outside at all. Where are the windows?_ They turned around to look at the door, expecting to see light streaming in from the window in the upper third, but the door on this side was as solid as it could be with a distinct lack of panes.

It suddenly clicked in their mind. No wonder they'd felt that rush of magic when they'd stepped inside! Their shoulders relaxed and a delighted grin stretched across their lips. This house was magic! Of course!

With a newfound excitement, Frisk pushed farther into the house and immediately noticed how spacious it actually was. Most of the light that filled the room came from the large sliding glass doors on the far side of the living room, a soft white light from the lamp posts lining the roads on that side of the house. There was no sound except for the quiet whirring of the furnace running somewhere in the house.

They made their way into the living room and shrugged their bag off. It was placed on the kitchen counter for now, but Frisk moved around the counter to enter the hall on the other side of the room. There was a bathroom situated between the two bedrooms with Toriel's on the right. The door was closed and already had a holiday wreathe woven with colorful flowers, deep greens, and small glowing echoflower buds peeking through every few inches around.

Frisk's room must be on the left. They stepped into the bathroom first to take care of business, pleased to see that their own personal bathing products had already been put away. Even their polka-dot shower curtain, a white background with bright pink spots, had been hung and drawn closed around the tub. A matching rug filled the space between the linen closet and sink.

_This is actually really nice. Mom sure knows how to pick 'em._

Frisk had been right to assume that their room hadn't been set up yet. Sure, their stuff was stacked neatly in the far corner of the room, and their full sized mattress and box spring were in there leaning against the wall, but nothing had been actually put together yet.

What Frisk did see was enough to make them stop and stare. They flicked on the light to get a better look. It was a music station! A large monitor was hung on the wall above the expansive black desk, flanked by speakers and more buttons that they knew better than to mess with. They suddenly felt a lot more awake at the sight.

Their eyes lingered on the piano keyboards on a layered metal rig in the far right corner of the room and then on their bed leaned up against the wall. Well... they might not be able to sleep on their bed tonight, but that couch had looked pretty inviting. Maybe it was one of those couches with a stowaway bed in it.

Frisk flipped the light switch down and left the room, stopping only long enough to grab a pillow and blanket from the pile of boxes nearest to the door, to make use of that couch for the night.

 

Who the fuck was this and how did they get into your house?

You stood at the foot of the couch with a plate of toast in one hand and a mug almost the size of your own head in the other. The smell of coffee permeated the air around you. The stranger gave no indication that they knew you were there. The smell of coffee always got you out of bed.

You stared down at the bundle on the couch, wrapped tightly in a bright pink blanket pulled all the way up to their nose. You couldn't see the rest of his -- hers? _theirs??_ \-- face. Their hair was long and covered it, a mass of tangled brown locks that spilled across their pillow and down the front of the couch.

After a few moments of awkwardly standing there and legit staring at them, you moved over to your armchair and eased down into it. The clock on the wall next to you declared it was almost 6 AM. You'd actually managed to sleep through the night for the first time in weeks. Figures you'd wake up early though.

Only to come out to find some weirdo sleeping on your couch! You'd begun to nibble on your toast when you realized that this was Frisk. They must have arrived sometime late last night after you'd gone to bed. Toriel had stayed up later than you to wait for them but you didn't know if she'd stayed up by the time Frisk had gotten home.

You ate in silence, only the even tick-tock-tick-tock sound keeping you from going crazy. You didn't like complete silence. It made your magic feel dull and almost non-existent. Your eyes darted back to Frisk when they stirred in their sleep. You took another bite of toast, finishing off the second piece, and washed it down with the last few gulps of coffee.

"Morning."

You choked on the coffee, the cup jerking in your surprise. You inhaled more than you swallowed and ended up wheezing and coughing, trying and failing to draw in a proper breath.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry." Frisk attempted to sit up but with how tangled they were, well... they ended up rolling right off the couch and hitting the floor with a thump and a squeak. You started laughing while choking and the sound was more akin to a donkey high on helium than anything else.

"It's fff... FINE! It's fine! I'm okay."

You hacked a few more times then finally managed to pull in a proper breath. Your eyes were watering and you knew your face was flushed red.

"That's good... I should have waited for you to finish drinking first." Frisk's eyes gleamed, their color a rich butterscotch golden brown. "I'm Frisk. Toriel's kid?"

You nodded, setting your mug down on the glass table. Frisk twisted around a few times to dislodge themselves from their blanket cocoon. They gathered it up and folded it messily onto to toss it on top of their pillow. When they stood, you noticed that they were taller than you ( _Just like everyone else in this town..._ ) you thought saltily to yourself) by several inches. You couldn't immediately tell their gender. They were quite androgynous and their clothes were on the baggier side so it made it really difficult to know for sure.

You decided that it wasn't any of your business. That said, you knew that you would probably misgender them at some point and you hoped that they wouldn't be too upset by it.

"Yeah, I know. Tori said you'd be moving in with her. I'm sorry your room isn't cleared out yet. I only just met her the day before yesterday and the guys moved everything over yesterday morning. I had to work though... but I have today off!" You grinned, hoping that Frisk might be interested in lending you a hand. "So I can get my stuff out of there and up to the attic."

"The attic?" Frisk sounded a little confused, and that confusion narrowed their eyes to thin slits. "Why would you want to move all that amazing stuff into a dusty old attic?"

Your grin widened. "Well, it's where I kept it all originally. The attic's basically converted into another bedroom. Well, more like... more like a lounge, really. I never use it though because I never have any friends over to hang out up there. I mean, now that you and your mom are here, you're welcome to check it out."

You thought back to when you'd first moved into the house. It had just been the same tiny house as it was on the outside. You'd been unable to do much of anything at all with it and had expressed your frustrations to Maggie. She'd been so helpful and had taught you how to create sequences with your magic. Granted, you'd been just awful at it and she'd done the majority of the work... but after a few weeks, you'd both been able to weave enough magic together to change the place to suit your needs.

It really reminded you of that scene from Howl's Moving Castle, complete with chalk markings on the floor and all those sparks. You smiled at the memory, telling yourself you'd have Maggie over soon for lunch sometime.

"That sounds really cool! I'd love to see it sometime." Frisk responded eagerly, leaning forward with their hands on their knees. "But hey, I gotta question or two for ya, hope you don't mind?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"Well.. when I came in this morning, I felt a lot of magic. You're a mage too, right?" They paused to gauge your reaction but you weren't surprised. One mage could almost always sense another, especially when they were so close to such a strong source like the leyline pulsing deep underneath your house. You gave another nod.

"Right, so that explains why this place is so huge inside when it's so tiny outside. How good are you at using your magic? I only ask 'cuz the magic I felt when I came in was pretty raw. Uh... would it be too forward of me to offer to help you out with it?"

"Uh. I guess not, but why would you offer? I legit just met you like ten minutes ago."

Frisk blushed and looked uncomfortable. "Well... usually I wouldn't, honestly, but you're just leaking magic all over the place. It suggests that you don't have a really good grasp on how to control your output. It's really dangerous for us mages to keep our magic bottled up." They stood up and gathered your dishes. You stood as well, feeling like there was more to this talk than they were letting on.

"I guess you're right. I can't really seem to tap into it without a trigger of some kind. Usually, it's my music that helps me let it out. I dunno if you looked real close at my music station, but I don't mess around when it comes to sweet tunes." You followed Frisk to the kitchen, stepping around the counter to open the pantry and scrounge for the box of apple cinnamon Pop Tarts you'd stuffed inside a few days ago.

Frisk gave your mug a rinse in the sink then set it on the drying rack beside the sink. They repeated the process with the crumb-covered plate, using the yellow and green scrubber next to the tap to make sure it was clean. The plate joined the mug. You handed Frisk one of the shiny foil packs from the box.

"So I guess? You could help, if you wanted? Maggie tried to teach me some stuff, but our magic is too different. What kind do you specialize in?"

Frisk opened their packet with a sharp crinkling sound and peeled it down far enough to expose the two tarts inside. They didn't take them out. They just lifted them both to their mouth and took a bite out of both at once.

"Oh, I'm a time mage. It's not as impressive as it sounds. I can set temporal locks that act as save points, like in a video game, and go back to them if something happens." They looked over at you, noticing your wide-eyed stare. Temporal magic?! That was so beyond advanced. You had a newfound respect for Frisk. "But I promised not to do that anymore, so now I mostly use my power to help out where I can. Like..." They turned to the still dripping dishes and held out their empty hand towards it.

A bright red sequence circle burned in the air in front of their palm. You watched as the water seemed to just evaporate right off the dishes. "Like that. I can rewind or fast-forward short bursts of time like this or, if it was on something like this," They shook their Pop Tart to indicate the subject, "I could speed its time up to make it decay."

That was wicked cool but also crazy dangerous. "Sounds like you got a really great understanding of your power. I wish I could tell you what I could do, but honestly? Outside of music, I'm useless. I can't even do any fire magic and that's, like, one of the easiest forms to learn." You huffed, taking a large bite of your tart in annoyance at yourself.

"Hey, no big deal. Do you know what you _can_ do? Anything specific at all?"

You paused mid-chew and looked up at them, trying to think of anything that you'd consider magic related. "I... I get feelings. Intuition, I think? I don't wanna call it full on ESP or anything, but, like... I just get these feelings about things I shouldn't have any way to know, like names and things that have happened if there was a strong emotion involved. Like when I met Sans, I knew his name and he hadn't told me it."

"Ah." Frisk looked intrigued but you noticed a flicker of something in their eyes. Doubt? Suspicion?

.... Worry?

"We'll figure it out, don't worry. How about we finish up this breakfast of champs then start moving your equipment? No offense, but I'm really looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight."

You shared a laugh but when you turned to put the box of Pop Tarts away Frisk's expression turned troubled.

This _might_ be a problem...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Frisk is finally introduced and it seems that you've got yourself a teacher! Sort of.
> 
> Visit my Tumblr for visual aids and extra information, including sneak peeks at future chapters!
> 
> https://drhughgrection.tumblr.com/
> 
> I'm open for Asks and requests. :)


	7. Chapter 7

Sans was so tired of playing nice.

He knew he needed to. This was Toriel's new housemate. Not only her but the kid, too. He didn't want to piss either of them off, but it was so damn hard to accept. To accept that you weren't just a human. You were a _mage_. You were dangerous, even if you admitted you could hardly use your magic.

You were still a threat. Sans didn't like you, plain and simple. He'd never told you his name, but you'd known it anyway. He didn't think that was a coincidence. You made his bones itch and he'd be damned if he let you get under his skin.

"Sans!"

He opened his eyesockets and looked up at his brother, grin lazy and relaxed. His hands were stuffed into his pockets like they usually were but his phalanges were curled into tight fists. He tried to ease the tension in them but found it almost impossible.

" 'sup, bro?"

Papyrus crossed his arms over his chest, glowering down at his older brother. Papyrus wasn't decked out in his 'battle body' today. He was actually dressed normally... if you could call a pair of denim shorts with paint splatters almost covering the material, a neon tee so bright a yellow that it could pass for a beacon, and a pair of orange sneakers with a very Lisa Frank cheetah print on them.

Fashionable, Papyrus was not. The sneakers had been a gag gift from Sans a few years ago but Papyrus had loved them so much that he wore them every time he had a free day.

"SANS! Did you forget that we're supposed to meet Frisk and Alphys at the lab today?!" Papyrus's sneaker tapped impatiently on the tile. Sans shrugged, seeming to sink further into the couch. It was the same one they'd had Underground. Papyrus had wanted to leave it behind and get a new one, but Sans had argued that he'd finally gotten his Sans-shaped divot in it _just right_ and it would be a shame to lose all those years of hard work.

Papyrus had, begrudgingly, agreed to let Sans bring it to the surface after they'd settled in.

"was that today?" He hadn't forgotten. He just didn't want to go. "sorry, bro. guess i did forget. welp..." Sans made his way over to the front door of their apartment and flicked the deadbolt open.

He looked back at Papyrus with his ever-present lazy smile. "waitin' on you now."

With a huff, Papyrus grabbed his keys from the stand beside the door and hurried after his brother, paused to lock the door, then began a rant about Sans' forgetfulness that lasted the entire drive to the lab.

 

The attic quickly became Frisk's favorite spot in the house. It wasn't as big as they'd expected -- it was open though, and warmly decorated with vinyl records and a large glass-paned display case full of books against the far left wall. The entire room was painted in a soft honey color. There were random splotches of the paint on the floor close to the walls as though someone had forgotten to put down tarps when working.

There was already lounge furniture up there. An old couch with four wide cushions that was actually large enough to closely sit their entire monster group took up the center of the room, facing the right wall. Dusty boxes spilled from all corners of the room, but Frisk and you had made quick work of moving them out of the way. In the process, you'd actually unearthed a small piano, which you both moved to another corner of the room.

It was out of tune, of course, but Frisk had insisted that Undyne would know how to fix it up. You tapped out a quick little tune for Frisk to test just how bad the strings were and agreed to get in touch with the former captain of the Royal Guard. This was beyond even your experience.

The hardest part of getting the attic ready for use, like it had been when you'd moved in five years ago, was all the cleaning that needed to be done. Luckily you (cough, Frisk, cough) had magic on your side! What would have taken hours ended up taking only about one and a half from start to finish. It was far from finished, but it looked good so far.

Moving your music equipment up hadn't taken long. Toriel had assisted, doing most of the heavy lifting with you while Frisk directed you both up the stairs. With a practiced hand, you set up your station against the right wall then joined Frisk on the couch with a heavy thump. You sank down into it beside them and groaned out a sigh.

"This is, like, super cool, (Y/N). Everyone's gonna love it!" Frisk praised the newly redone lounge. They had smudges of pale gray dust on their cheeks and their hair was sticking together in spots from cobwebs that had accumulated in the corners, but they otherwise looked fairly excited. "Man, I'm ready for a nap, though."

"Haha. You and me both..." You leaned back on the couch and stretched your arms and legs out in front of you. Your feet met empty air.

"We should get a coffee table for here," Frisk suggested while mimicking your stretch, wiggling their feet. "And a mini fridge! Oh man, I can't wait for Undyne and Alphys to see it when it's all done. I hope you like anime 'cuz they're gonna probably want to move Friday's anime nights to your place."

You didn't mind the idea, but... "Let's wait on letting them know about this yet. I don't really mind if you come up here to hang out, but..." You glanced over at the sprawling expanse of your music station against the wall in front of you and frowned.

"Buuuut... this is your space now before anyone else. I get it, girl, no problem." Frisk threw an arm around your shoulders and pulled you against their side. If it had been anyone else, you would have probably slapped them. With Frisk, though.. for some reason, this felt nice. You'd forged an impossibly quick friendship with them. You didn't feel pressured to behave a certain way like you did with most people you knew.

Maybe it was a mage thing? There was a pre-existing connection there. Your souls just seemed to sort of compliment each other.

"Yeah. Thanks. I appreciate your understanding... I'll let you know when I'm okay with bringing the others up here... but yeah, like, for now? I really just wanna get used to this space for a while first. I haven't been up here in a long time and it's been even longer since it's been used for music."

"Yeah, I get it. So, hey, um... about this morning... The whole 'training you in your magic' thing..."

You wiggled against Frisk's side and twisted around so your back was pressed against the arm of the couch and you could sprawl your legs across their lap. Their hands dropped down to your calves and began to tap up and down like they were playing a keyboard. It was scary how easily you two got along already.

"Yeah?"

"Well, y'see, I'm not so much of a teacher myself. Mom would be better suited for any real deep work, but I can at least get ya started... would you be willing to visit Alphys at her lab sometime? She's got this nifty machine that can lock onto a soul and check its magic potential. I think if we can get a base reading on what we're working with then we can get together with Goat Mom and make a plan."

You looked up at the ceiling, thinking about it. Alphys was Undyne's partner, right? The yellow drake monster in the painting hanging in the entry hall downstairs. "I guess that'd be a good idea." Your mouth suddenly felt dry. "She's a doctor, right? I, uh, never did so well with docs. Needles, y'know?"

Frisk laughed, the sound rich and warm. You gave a hesitant smile. "Nah. I mean, _yeah_ , she's a doctor, but not _that_ kind of doctor. She's was the royal scientist Underground. Did a lot of work with Souls. If anyone would be able to help us out, it'd be her. Or Sans..."

Sans? You must have frowned because Frisk gave your knee a reassuring pat. They then squeezed it with the tips of their fingers and you tried not to giggle. Playfully, you swatted their hand away.

"But Sans doesn't do that anymore. Alph's the one for this job. So.. you're okay with seeing her, yeah?"

You nodded after only a moment of thought. "Yeah. When would you wanna go?"

"We can go Tuesday? Christmas break starts then. That'll give us a few days to prepare... Now," Frisk suddenly stood, throwing your legs off them in the process but held out their hands to pull you up off the couch with them, "Let's see what mom's making for lunch. I'm starved!"

 

_The golden pillars of the Judgement Hall towered around you. You'd been there for a while now. Waiting._

_And waiting._

_Then they finally arrived. You put up a good fight, but honestly? You hadn't stood a chance._

_You only closed your eyes for a minute._

_A flash of silver, a spray of red._

_Darkness._

Your hands clawed at your chest when you woke. Another nightmare. Of course it was another _DAMN_ nightmare. You were so sick of this. Angry tears burned your eyes as you rolled onto your side and curled into a ball. There was no way you were getting back to sleep tonight.

Slowly you counted to ten then uncurled yourself from your protective ball. Your chest throbbed as you stood, still feeling the phantom blade slicing through flesh.

"Just a dream." You swallowed thickly in an attempt to moisten your parched throat. "Just. A. Dream."

You made it to the bathroom and stripped down, hoping a hot shower would help ease the shaking of your hands and the stiffness in your shoulders. You turned to pull the curtain aside and start the water but froze at the sight of yourself in the mirror.

There, marring your chest, was an angry red scar starting on your right shoulder all the way down to your left hip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://drhughgrection.tumblr.com/
> 
> Check out my Tumblr for visual aids, information, and previews for future chapters. :)
> 
> I know I said that we'd be learning more about why Reader is hesitant around new monsters, but I'm having a hard time finding a good way to bring it up. I feel like it might be too soon? Like, I want some more plot and interactions to happen before she just opens up about it.


	8. Keep moving forward

After the nightmare, you hadn't been able to get back to sleep. Could you call it a nightmare? It had already mostly faded away. You could remember the sharp sting of the knife but that was about it.

The dream may have faded, but the mark hadn't. There was magic around it. You could feel it, but you couldn't do anything about it. After inspecting the phantom wound, you'd discovered that it wasn't actually part of you directly. It constantly tingled and when you touched it you found it to feel like static electricity.

It was, you realized, residual magic. The problem was that you had no idea what caused it. You thought about asking Frisk about it or even Toriel but your gut had twisted at the notion.

No, you'd decided, you would figure this out on your own. If you couldn't find an answer then maybe you'd ask Maggie or Jaq... but there was no way you were going to ask your new housemates about something like this. You'd known them less than a week. Already you felt like your friendship with Frisk was moving too fast.

You needed to take this slow, not rush in with reckless abandon.

Your hands found your phone on your nightstand and before you even knew you had dialed, Jaq's voice greeted you on the other end of the line.

 

You hadn't been scheduled at Club Magenta that night, but Jaq had invited you in for a long overdue heart to heart. He had been Brian's best friend before the accident and had become something of a best friend to you as well.

The bass-heavy music blasting through the club was quiet in Jaq's office. It wasn't soundproof, but the walls were thick and made of sturdy brick painted white. The room was pretty basic as far as decorations went. There wasn't anything remarkable that popped out at first glance.

Jaq made sure the door was closed and the sign hanging in the window (that said, in bold red letters, "GO AWAY, I'M BUSY") was facing outward. He then drew the dark curtains over the panes of glass and joined you at his desk. It was a simple dark wood desk with a layer of glass over the top and thick squared table legs holding it up.

He let out a low groan as soon as he was seated and slumped back into his chair, head tipping back to rest against the top of the chair. You waited for him to settle in before gently kicking his foot with your own beneath the desk to get his attention.

"So... can we skip the formalities and get right to why I called you?" You asked hopefully, crossing your forearms on the desk and leaning your weight onto them. He didn't respond.

Wait, did he...

"You asshole, don't fall asleep on me!" You gave his foot a harder kick. He jerked awake from his impromptu nap with a heavily accepted "I'm awake!" that cut off halfway through with a mighty yawn.

"Jeez," You scowled, "You shouldn't be working if you're so tired, boss..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Things at home are, uh.. a little weird right now, what with Tilly and the proposal, and her rejection, and the kid... and the baby due soon..." He sounded so tired. The dark circles under his eyes hadn't always been that dark, right? Your expression softened.

"Yeah... That's gotta be rough... I'm really sorry about all that. Did, ah... Did Miss Tilly at least give you a reason why she said no?"

Your problems could wait. Jaques looked across the desk at you with exhaustion making every line in his face appear deeper. "Yeah. Said she's comfortable with the way things are right now. I guess I can understand that. I just, you know... I thought that it would be a good time to ask her? We'd talked about it before and I thought she liked the idea, but..."

He sighed and leaned back in his chair again but, to his credit, he didn't fall asleep again. You and Tilly weren't close in any way, but you'd also thought that she'd want to get married. Especially since they already had one child _and_ another on the way. Marriage just wasn't for everyone you supposed.

You took a moment to look Jaq over. He was a terribly handsome man of French origin. Tall, tan, and absolutely _ripped_. Miss Tilly was a lucky woman. You weren't interested in him beyond a friendship (plus, he was your boss anyway, AND he was already taken when you'd first met him) but you sure did enjoy looking at him. His eyes were so pure a green that they could have passed for emeralds.

"I'm sorry, Jaq." You leaned back in the wooden seat and awkwardly shoved your hands into the pockets of your blue, fur-lined hoodie. "Wish I knew what to tell you..."

He waved away your awkward reassurances (could it even be called that? You'd literally had no idea what to tell him. What do you say to someone whose marriage proposal was rejected?) and cleared his throat. His eyes were a little shinier than usual when he looked over the desk at you.

"Don't worry about it, mon ami. If Tilly doesn't wish to marry then I do not mind simply being with her as we are." He smiled. "But we are here to speak of you! What's brought you here tonight?" While waiting for you to start telling him your woes he spun his chair around and snatched a few bottles of room temperature water from the mini fridge tucked under the shelves behind him.

You accepted one when he offered it to you but set it on the desk for now. You were hesitating.

"I... Sorry, I just had this whole conversation in my head like five times already but turns out it's harder to get the words out than I imagined." You frowned, thinking back to the dream from just a few hours ago. Jaq made a sound of curiosity, but made no other sounds to interrupt you.

You took a deep breath and released it slowly. As you did, you fixed your eyes on a spot just over Jaques' shoulder and began.

You told him of the nightmares you could never remember, the restless nights, the frustration you felt at your lack of progress with your magic. You got all of that out of the way before dropping the bomb.

Your new roommates? The queen of monsters and the monster ambassador.

Now _that_ earned a stunned silence and shocked sputter immediately after. " _Quelle?_ Really? Not only have you allowed a monster to move in but the _queen_?" Jaq eyed you with suspicion. "What about... you know.... Brian?"

Your shoulder tensed at the name and your hands balled into fists inside the pockets of your -- of Brian's -- hoodie. The bite of your nails cutting into your palms was the only thing keeping your mind from wandering.

"He... I know it's startling, but... Ugh... I don't know, Jaq." You withdrew your hands from your pockets and reached up to pull the hood over your head. The patchy fur tickled your cheeks. You couldn't tell if it was your heart or your soul throbbing so sharply in your chest. "It's been almost ten years. I shouldn't keep judging an entire species for the actions of one."

A silence stretched between the two of you. Finally, you reached for the bottle of water on the desk and twisted the cap off. You took a greedy gulp then another, and another until the bottle was empty. The water hit your stomach with an uncomfortable gurgle, reminding you that you hadn't eaten since the early lunch with Frisk yesterday.

Your eyes darted around the room. "It's coming up soon." A muscle in your jaw ticked repeatedly. "The anniversary. In two weeks. I thought it would get easier to deal with but it feels just as raw now as it did then."

Jaq reached across the desk and grasped your hands, running his thumb across your knuckles. "It's alright to grieve, (Y/N). I know it's hard to think about it, but it's alright to remember him. It's alright to cry."

You hadn't realized that tears had started to drip from your eyes. You smiled bitterly. "I shouldn't have any tears left."

_"Brian, we shouldn't be out so late." You whispered to your older brother as he held the back door open for you. You might have protested, but you were excited. Tonight was a special night. A meteor shower was supposed to be visible tonight. Normally this time of year had skies covered in clouds heavy with snow and rain._

_Not tonight. Tonight it was so clear that you could see countless stars in the sky. The moon was hidden in Earth's shadow so the only light came from the stars. You loved it._

_"C'mon, (Y/N), it's gonna start soon. We gotta get to our spot before it does!" Brian was only 17. His birthday was a few days ago. He'd gotten a brand new telescope from your parents and was eager to try it out. Tonight was perfect. "And be quiet, or dad'll hear us sneaking out."_

_Brian's voice was as quiet and as excited as your own. Giggling, you grabbed his hand as he extended it out to you. He made sure the door was closed before he started dragging you along behind him. You had the telescope in its case strapped to your back. It jostled against you as you ran with Brian as fast as your 11-year-old self could go._

_The distance from the house to the hill you two often snuck off to was about half a mile. It didn't take long to get there._

_You adored your brother. He adored you. You were best friends. That was how it should be. He had taken you under his wing as soon as you'd been big enough to keep up with him. He had let you tag along out of requirement since your parents had insisted he bring you with him whenever he and his friends would hang out at the mall or in the park after school._

_It had bothered him for a long time but you'd proven your worth after absolutely dusting him and his friend, Jaq, in a foot race from one end of the park to the other. Neither of them had held back, but you had,_ somehow _, managed to beat them at their own challenge. You weren't sure how. You'd been left in the dust yourself as they sprinted ahead of you but then you were at the finish line._

_It felt like you'd just blinked and then you were there. They were as perplexed as you were but had made good on their promise to let you tag along from now on without complaint. Your trio had only grown closer since then. Now you all gathered at the hill whenever the nights were clear to stargaze and have late night picnics without your parents even knowing you were gone._

_Jaq was waiting at the hill for you with a cooler full of soda cans and a bag filled with junk food from the 24-hour Circle K down the road. "Brian! (Y/N)! Hurry it up, come on, it's going to start any minute now!"_

_Jaq had only been in the States for less than a year. His native French accent was so thick you'd often had a hard time understanding any of his words. He'd even tried to teach you some French but it had gone in one ear and out the other. Eventually, he'd given up but not before you did manage to learn several curse words from him._

_Brian had not been happy when you'd used them._

_Jaq handed out the drinks and spread out the snacks on the grass around the telescope after it was set up. You took turns looking through it, marveling at the stars and exclaiming whenever you would see a meteor streak through the sky._

_You remembered the next few hours fondly. The sky had been filled with meteors and memories. Jaq headed home before you and Brian had, leaving you two together with the telescope and the leftover drinks. Soon after the meteor shower had officially ended, you packed up and went home._

_Only... Brian never made it home that night._

_It had been an accident. You hadn't even seen the car speeding around the corner. The headlights had been out and you both had been wearing dark clothes. There was a screech of tires, Brian screamed out your name._

_Two hands shoved you hard and you lurched out of the way._

_A sickening thud, shattering glass. Screaming. Then there were flashing lights and the wail of sirens drowning out your own screeching._

_You remembered seeing the monster for the first time in the flashing red and blue lights of the police cars and the ambulance. It was a very insectoid type of monster, with feather-like hair and a sharply angled face covered in shiny black carapace. Four arms, six bright violet eyes._

_Monsters were real and you'd met the worst of them._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been wanting to get this whole flashback type scene out for a while. Was gonna have Reader talk to Jaq about the whole residual magic slash thing but will just save that for a later chapter with a more important character. Hey, at least we know exactly what happened now :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You eat too much pie, meet Alphys, and finally see your soul.

“Wake up! (Y/N)! WAKE UP!”

You groaned in response, attempting to block out the voice by drawing your blankets up over your head. You'd been having such a pleasant dream, too. At least, you thought it was pleasant. It had involved a handsome man, a bottle of chocolate syrup, and a very comfortable bed. Now it was your own bed you were in. Desperately you tried to return to sleep but it was already gone.

“I SAID WAKE UP, LAZY ASS!”

Your blankets were suddenly whipped off your body and you screeched in surprise. You rolled onto your back and snapped your eyes open, catching sight of Frisk at the end of your bed... at the end of a running start and the beginning of a flying leap. “Wha--!”

WHUMP. BOUNCE.

“Friiiisk... It's too early for this.” God, it was like living with the personification of energy itself whenever Frisk was around. “It's like...” You struggled to turn your head to peek at the alarm clock on your nightstand and squinted. “It's not even six yet!”

Frisk scoffed and re-positioned themselves over you, their knees straddling your hips. Their hands moved to your shoulders and their whole body began to rock side to side. They moved you with them, wiggling excitedly. “It's early enough! We have to get ready. Remember?? We're supposed to go see Alphys today. She's probably already waiting for us at the lab. Mom's already made breakfast for us.”

Frisk rolled off of you and flopped onto the bed beside you, somehow wrapped in the blanket they'd swiped off you. They lay there for only a second before twisting around and flinging themselves off the bed. You groaned as the bed jostled but followed suit (albeit much more slowly) and finally got up.

“What'd Tori make?”

“Pie!”

You paused, hands midway through your hair. You turned and gave Frisk an incredulous look. “For breakfast??” You sounded as surprised and as aghast as you felt. Pie was not a breakfast food! Pie was dessert! You continued to comb your fingers through your locks as you followed an overly energetic Frisk down the hall of your bedroom to the bathroom. They pulled open the medicine cabinet and found the hairbrush tucked away on the top shelf.

“Hey, pie is an 'any time' food! Breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, snacks...” Frisk closed the mirror front of the cabinet and reached over to position you in front of them. You were forced to stare at your reflection for a few seconds while Frisk started tugging the brush through your hair. An uncomfortable lump formed in your throat. Your eyes darted down to your chest but your pajama top was securely buttoned all the way up to your neck.

The slash beneath throbbed. You closed your eyes, swallowed hard, and took a deep breath. “Yeah, I guess. Never had it for breakfast before, though. Actually, I've ever eaten so much pie before you and your mom moved in... I gotta cut back, otherwise I'm gonna start packing on the pounds.” You gave your belly a playful pat with both hands, laughing.

Frisk made quick work of taming your hair and began to pull it back into a firm braid. You opened your eyes to watch them work, doing your best to keep your eyes trained on them instead of yourself. Mirrors had always freaked you out. You wouldn't call it a phobia, but it was more than just a discomfort.

You'd always imagined your reflection reaching through and grabbing you. When you were a kid, your mother had one of those large vanity type desks in her closet. You'd liked to pull the two outer mirrors in have them reflect each other infinitely. You liked to peek between the glass and see your own eyes staring back at you by the hundreds.

Until one day it wasn't your eyes looking back.

Now you avoided looking into a mirror for longer than a few seconds at a time. You'd never told anyone about it. It didn't seem important enough to ever come up in conversation. Frisk startled you out of your thoughts by reaching around you and opening the cabinet again to put the brush back and grab one of the elastic hair ties from the same shelf.

As soon as your braid was secured Frisk whisked you out of the bathroom and into the closet. You noticed that they had already raided it and were actually wearing one of your own over-sized handmade turtleneck sweaters. You would have been bothered if it were anyone else.

The two of you made small-talk as you went through the hangers and eventually threw together an outfit that would work for a science centered day. Nothing fancy. Just a pair of black jeans, a pink turtleneck that was the same style as the one Frisk wore (theirs was a soft powdery blue), and a pair of red boots that went all the way up to your knees. They reminded you of the ones Papyrus always seemed to wear.

“You're gonna wear that old jacket?”

Frisk put their hands on their hips as you reached for Brian's hoodie. Your fingers curled around the scruff of it and you pulled it against your chest.

“Uh... yeah? I always wear it.”

“Why?”

“It's, uh... It used to belong to my brother.. He's... He's not here anymore, so...” You didn't look over at them, instead turning your back to begin stripping out of your pajamas and into your selected outfit. It didn't really bother you that they didn't turn around to give you any privacy. You made sure to keep your back to them as you dressed though. The idea of them seeing the mark across your torso made your stomach turn and you weren't sure why.

For a moment, you remembered the dream and thought about how that knife would have fit into Frisk's palm just right. You shook off the thought and finished changing.

 

The two slices of breakfast pie had settled uneasily in your stomach. It wasn't so much a pie as it was a kind of quiche. You'd never had quiche before – it wasn't bad. At least it wasn't snail pie. You remembered finding Toriel's cookbook a few days after she'd unpacked the rest of her kitchen boxes. Finding a book labeled '1,001 Surprising and Delicious Snail Recipes' had been a surprise. You'd glanced through it, but...

Nope.

The not-pie-quiche had been loaded up with hash browns, sausage, egg, and bacon. Somehow, despite having enough grease to service a small engine, it hadn't felt greasy or oily at all. You'd eaten and felt more alert and awake with every bite.

“Magic.” Toriel had told you when you'd asked her what the secret ingredient was. Of course it was magic.. but magic food was supposed to just be absorbed by the body, right? You'd asked that too, and Frisk had explained that since you and them were both humans you actually needed real, physical food to sustain yourselves.

Something about monsters being made entirely of magic and requiring magic food in the same way that humans made entirely of physical _stuff_ required physical food. Both monsters and humans could consume both magic and food, but neither could survive on just one. Toriel's cooking was a happy medium but you were still dead set against eating anything with snails in it.

“Are you excited?” Frisk asked from the drivers seat. You had allowed them to drive to the lab since you didn't know exactly where it was. It made you nervous to let someone else drive your car but it was kind of nice to sit back and relax instead of having to worry constantly about watching the road.

“A little? I guess?” You tugged at your seat belt and pulled it tighter near the buckle. The firm cinching around your hips brought little comfort to your nerves. “More nervous than anything. I've never really done any soul stuff before. What if my soul is … _wrong_? What if I don't actually have any magic at all?”

Frisk pressed their lips together and drummed their fingers on the steering wheel. “Obviously you have magic, (Y/N). You wouldn't be able to do your music stuff if you didn't. Your light shows are wicked amazing when you're in the zone! And your eyes _literally_ glow and strobe and all that cool shit.”

You blushed.

“And that, too! When you blush or whatever, your skin kind of goes, like... fwoom!” You looked down at your hands and saw what they meant. Your skin had always had this odd sort of shimmer to it, like you had rolled around naked in a tub full of super fine gold glitter. It was hardly visible unless you were under some strong lights.

That said, you could see the golden shimmer form more concentrated patterns across the backs of your hands. You never took the time to really inspect it. Most of the time they were invisible. Only whenever you used your magic did the marks flare to life and even then they only reacted to certain things. The only progress that you'd made on your own with controlling your magic was knowing that one of your main triggers was emotion. It was easiest through your music. It was all about how it made you feel.

Your fingers curled into loose fists. You remained silent as the streets passed in a blur of colors and flashing traffic lights. Frisk reached for the radio and turned the knob down until the music was so quiet that it was barely audible. You glanced over at them curiously.

“Probably best that we go in with as basic a reading on your magic as possible. Alphy's will wanna know your base stats first.”

“Ah.”

 

“What is _he_ doing here?”

You were not a happy camper. You expected Alphys and maybe Undyne (she was not there, and you had to admit you were disappointed – you didn't have her number yet and wanted to ask her about tuning that piano in the attic) but you didn't expect to see Sans there.

He was lacking his usual blue hoodie in favor of what you were sure had been a crisp white lab coat earlier in the day. Now it was stained with a splotch of bright tomato red on the collar (ketchup?) and a rather unfortunate explosion of black ink spreading from the breast pocket. You'd thought the whole 'pen in pocket exploding ink' trope was only a movie thing.

Sans didn't look very thrilled to see you either. He looked exhausted, like he'd stayed up several days straight and had been living purely off of 5-Hour Energy shots, Mountain Dew, and Doritos. “yo.”

That damn word again! The fine hairs on the nape of your neck bristled in response. You pointedly turned away from him and narrowed a scathing glare at Frisk. They at least had the decency to look ashamed.

“Well.... Okay, I should have told you that he'd be here, too. He works here as Alphys' assistant.” Frisk tried to sling an arm over your shoulder but you ducked away before they could. They raised a hand to their mouth to cover a smile and cleared their throat.

“He played a really big part in developing the tech we're gonna be using today. So let's play nice, yeah? Hey, Sans, where's Alphys?” Frisk ignored your scowl to look around the lab. The little dino was MIA but they had to be around here somewhere, right?

“she's off prepping the machine for us, last minute adjustments or somethin'.” His eyelights flickered over to you for a moment. “either that or she's fallen asleep at her desk again.. I _tired_ to tell her to get some rest before coming in, but you know how she is when she gets an idea in her head.”

You didn't want to admit that his lame pun almost got a giggle out of you. You didn't really have anything directly against Sans besides the fact that he made himself too comfortable whenever he was at your house. Well, that and the whole thing about him obviously not liking mages, too. That didn't help either, certainly.

The lab wasn't really so much a 'lab'. Sure, there were a few computer monitors around this part of the building. There were even filing cabinets, cork boards covered in notes (one of which was a set of really terrible chemistry related pick-up lines that you shamefully had to admit would work on you), and shelves full of dubious flasks and vials.

The room you, Frisk, and Sans were standing in was separated from the rest of the lab by a thick pane of glass. The room beyond it was fairly large and full of machinery and equipment covered in dials, flashing lights, too many buttons and switches for you to have any comprehensive idea as to their functions. You'd call it more of a reclaimed bunker or warehouse than a science lab.

But it served its purpose, you supposed. As Frisk and Sans began shooting puns and jokes at one another you started to explore. Not that there was much you could do here. You didn't stick your nose into the filing cabinets, but you did read a lot of the notes on the cork board and even chuckled at a few of the scattered puns here and there.

There were a few papers covered in almost illegible scrawls. You recognized a few words. 'Frisk', 're-calibrate', 'appointment', and another that made you think twice about coming here.

'Unstable' was written in red ink by a shaky hand. You focused on it, feeling... something. There was a sensation of ice forming in your gut, a sense of dread.

You looked back to Frisk and Sans, only to find Sans gone and Frisk rummaging through a filing cabinet. They gave a hoot of delight as they found what they were looking for. When they turned towards you they had a box of chocolate Pocky in hand. “Alphys always has these stashed around everywhere. They're like crack for her.”

“They _are_ crack, Frisk. Sharing is caring.”

The two of you shared the box of Pocky and had almost finished it off when the door on the left side of the room suddenly burst open and Alphys, clad in her own pristine white lab coat and a pair of glasses three times as large as her eyes, bustled into the room. Her arms were piled high with thick binders overstuffed with papers and a rainbow of sticky-notes poking every which way.

“Oh dear, oh d-dear, I-I'm so sor-sorry I'm late!” Your shoulders relaxed as the drake monster stuttered out her apologies. You stepped from Frisk to help Alphys move the stack of biners from her arms onto an already overcrowded desk. She was much shorter than you – in fact, she barely came up to the middle of your ribs and you found yourself stepping back so you didn't accidentally bump into her.

“It's cool, Alphys! Hope you don't mind,” Frisk shuffled up beside you and stuffed the last of the Pocky into their mouth, “but we kinda raided your stash.”

You reached over to rub the end of your sleeve across Frisk's chin to wipe away a smear of melted chocolate.

“N-Not at all, F-Frisk. I h-have some more in.. everywhere.” Alphys made a sound between a breathless wheeze and a choking cough and you realized that she was laughing. Either that or she really _was_ choking but you let yourself believe the former. “N-Now...” She turned to you and shoved her hand into the air between you.

Your own reached out to grasp hers, five slender human fingers against three thick reptilian. Her scales were cool to the touch and sent a shiver up your spine at the temperature contrast to your own. “You're (Y-Y/N). Frisk told me y-you were coming. I-I'm afraid that w-we don't have as much t-time as I'd like, so we sh-should get right to b-b-business!”

She gave your hand a solid shake but didn't release it. Instead she began to almost drag you from the room through the door she'd entered from. Frisk trailed along behind you with another box of Pocky (where did they find that one?!) in one hand and their phone in the other.

“Hey, doc, you're not gonna, like... stick me full of needles, right?”

Alphys shook her head quickly, nearly sending her glasses flying off her face “N-No! Of course not!” She lead you through another door and into a room that was surprisingly barren other than a large screen on the left wall and a large machine in the center. Well, you say 'machine' but it was more like a large glass cylinder with the machinery on the top and bottom.

“This p-process is relatively non-invasive. Y-You'll step into the tube and, and... and th-the machine above you w-will draw out your s-- your soul – and display your stats on the screen th-there.” She released your hand to readjust her glasses and looked around the room.

Sans was standing off to the side near the screen, hands stuffed into his pockets. A pair of safety goggles were secured over his sockets. He was watching you and Alphys with a lazy grin. Beads of glowing blue sweat clung to his skull. It was pretty clear that he would rather be anywhere but here. His eyelights darted between the tube and you, narrowing ever so slightly.

“Have you used this thing on a mage before?” You asked, stepping up to the tube and circling around it. “I mean.. is it safe? Stable?”

“the only thing you need to worry about is standing still once you're inside. Leave the rest of it to the professional scientists.” Sans answered in place of Alphys. The dino was already rushing around the room and doing another round of last minute checks. Frisk had moved off to a corner of the room to stay out of the way. You got the feeling that they were just here now to observe.

“You never struck me as a scientist type.” You shrugged out of your jacket and tossed it over to Frisk, who caught it and draped it over their arm. “Didn't think you'd be serious enough for something like this. You're more of a joker.”

Sans' smile grew. “well, I have been known to make science jokes _periodically_.” The smile was even bigger when you rolled your eyes and crossed your arms. “always fun to see what kind of _reaction_ i can get out of people.”

“Are they usually bad reactions? 'Cuz your jokes are _sodium_ bad.” Frisk laughed and even Sans managed a chuckle, but you suspected he was only doing it to be nice. “... Can we get started? Alphys said there wasn't a whole lot of time to do this, so...”

Sans turned from you without another word. You stuck your tongue out at his back, scowling, but followed after him to the tube. Alphys pressed her hand against the panel that lowered from the ceiling. The glass tube lifted from the bottom with a low hiss of pressure being released. When it cleared your height you were ushered up onto the small platform.

“Any questions before we get started?” Alphys looked over the rim of her glasses at you. You stared at her for a moment and nodded.

“Is... is this going to hurt?”

Sans was suddenly beside the panel, the tips of his phalanges clicking sharply as he started the machine up. “don't worry... we'll make it quick.” The glass tube dropped around you in the next instant and a bright light clicked on above you.

You heard the machine whirring to life and felt a strong tug in your chest. There was a second or two of panic as the feeling grew in intensity that melted away as a powerful static sensation danced over your skin. The feeling in your chest expanded until you could hardly breathe and then, as quick as it came, it ended. Something in you snapped at the same time as a brilliant glow burst from your ribs and filled the space all around you.

Before you, hovering just inside of the tube with you, was your soul in the purest hue of gold you'd ever seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyyy! I can't believe that this piece of shit story of mine has gotten so much Kudos. People actually like this? I'm so honored :') I rewrote this chapter like 3 times before I was satisfied enough to post it. The chapters seem to be getting longer now. This one is like... almost 4k words?
> 
> I have a tumblr! Check it out! :)
> 
> https://drhughgrection.tumblr.com/
> 
> You'll find visual references, some story snippets, updates on chapter progression, and more there! I'm also accepting Asks and messages about the story so if there's anything you'd like to know then feel free to drop me a line over there. :) May contain spoilers if you aren't 100% up to date here.


	10. Overload

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans tells you what he thinks of you and acts on reckless impulse.
> 
> It does not end well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'ALL, I HAVE BEEN SO EXCITED FOR THIS CHAPTER
> 
> ALL ABOARD THE ANGST TRAIN, CHOO CHOO!
> 
> Seriously, I have had this exact scenario in mind since before I even started writing this fic. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Took about 5 hours from start to finish to crank this one out.
> 
> Don't forget to check out my Tumblr for stuff on this story. :)
> 
> https://drhughgrection.tumblr.com/

You didn't know a whole lot about souls You knew the basics. Every mage worth their salt knew at least _that_ much. There were eight different types that you knew of. Determination, patience, bravery, integrity, perseverance, kindness, and justice. All of them were capable of their own specific magic but some souls were strong enough to wield multiple colors. It wasn't rare but it wasn't too common either.

_It wasn't the first time you'd seen your Soul. You had been thirteen when you'd encountered it. It was an accident, actually. You'd had a rough day and had wanted nothing more than to just get home and crawl into bed. You loved your parents, really you did, but sometimes... sometimes they just didn't get it. You were a teenager now, you needed space and you needed time to understand yourself. You hadn't needed (“... or wanted OR ASKED FOR!” you'd argued) them to offer their opinions._

_So what if you'd cut class? So what if you'd spent the last period hiding out under the bleachers with Jaq and Tilly smoking? You regretted the way you'd reacted at being caught and confronted now, but you'd still been a child. Reckless, going through a volatile puberty, with no idea of what to expect. You'd lashed out in anger and had spent the rest of the day and night hiding in your bedroom._

_That was when you'd first turned to music. You'd always had an interest in it but had never had the drive to pursue it. It had always just been a constant in your life; it was everywhere but you'd never paid much mind to it before now. Your parents had grounded you for a week and took away every electronic device you'd owned. Your computer, cell phone, tablet. The only things they'd let you keep were your books and Brian's old iPod._

_The thing was a first generation iPod. It was a thick and bulky white rectangle, ancient by today's standards, and had only 5GB of space on it. You hadn't updated the music at all, so everything that was on it had been what Brian had liked. Mostly it was oldies and a few late hits from the '90s and early '00s._

_You had wished he was still there. This would have been so much easier with him. You'd both had plans. He'd promised to take you to your first school dance. You were supposed to go to the same college. He was supposed to be there. It wasn't fair._

_You'd been so overcome with emotion, lifted to new heights with the music pulsing through your headphones, that your magic had reacted for the first time. Your soul had burst out of your chest and burned away the shadows in the room in its fierce glow. It had bathed you in warmth and you'd felt so secure and safe in it._

You didn't feel that way now. Not with your Soul pulled out so forcefully. You'd thought that Alphys would just have you stand in this tube and scan your Soul without yanking it out. If she was so smart then shouldn't she have been able to do that?

The way Sans was looking at it made you want to cover it. You couldn't reach it, though. Every time you reached out to grab it it ended up just pushing farther away from your hand. You vaguely registered the sound of beeping and electronic screeching like an old dial-up internet modem. You felt the cold glass against your Soul and tried not to shiver.

On the other side of the glass stood Sans, eyeing the bright gold heart with interest. Alphys and Frisk both stood over by the screen checking out the stats that were starting to show up alongside a rather pixelated image of your Soul.

“W-Wow! Her HP is so high! She could be a boss monster!” Alphys' voice was muffled through the glass but you could still hear what she was saying for the most part. There was a ringing in your ears that made it a little harder to focus so you doubled your efforts.

Sans looked over to the screen, his eyelights darting from stat to stat. You were afraid to look, but turned your head to follow his gaze.

*LV 1  
*HP 2500/2800  
*AT 65  
*DF 100  
*MP …

MP? You remembered what Frisk had said the other day. This machine would check your magic potential. So why was there no data there? You frowned.

“hey alphys, I thought this thing was supposed to have _potential_... so how come there's none there?” Sans turned to face you accusingly, as if you were deliberately hiding the information from them. You squared your shoulders and narrowed your eyes right back at him.

“Hey, don't look at me. I already told you I was a shitty mage, remember?” You snapped, your voice muffled behind the glass but horribly loud inside. Your Soul pulsed with your words and pressed harder against the glass when you took a small step forward. There was another loud beeping from the screen but neither of you turned to investigate.

“yeah, shitty or not, you're still a mage, and you're dangerous. A mage that can't control their magic is more of a threat than a mage who can.”

The feeling of dream that you'd experienced in the main office returned full force. You tried to reach for you Soul one more time but it was pressing so hard against the glass that you were afraid it would shatter. The glass or Soul, you weren't sure.

Sans' eyelights shrank. There was a sudden heaviness surrounding you. No, not you, you realized. Your soul. It was still gold but now there was a faint blue tinge around it. Sans' right socket had gone pitch black and the light in the other was brighter with a matching blue glow. You tried not to show your nervousness but a cold sweat on the back of your neck made you stand up a little straighter.

“I.. I hate t-to admit it, (Y/N), b-but a mage without the ability to c-control their m.. their magic is something th-that we can't ignore. Y-You aren't just a danger to.. to those around you but also to y-yourself.” Alphys drew you and Sans out of your glaring match. He kept glaring at you behind his grin, but you broke eye contact in favor of looking at Alphys' more friendly face.

“S... So what do I do?” You pressed your hands against the glass on either side of your soul. It had moved with you, leaving behind a glittery streak of light to show its path, and remained directly in front of you. On the other side of the glass Frisk approached and lifted their hands to line up with yours.

“We teach you how to be a proper mage.” Frisk spoke with determination so strong you could feel it in your bones. “That's been the plan this whole time, remember?”

Your relief didn't last long. An almost outraged grunt came from Sans and he was quick to lead Alphys back over to the screen. They began conversing in quick, hushed tones. With how sound was muffled between them and you from the glass you couldn't hear anything they were saying. Your heart began to pound a little harder against your ribs.

“Yeah. I want to learn, Frisk. I'm not a threat, I swear. I'd never use my magic to hurt anyone.”

_Really?_ A voice in the back of your mind whispered. A spider came to mind as soon as you recognized it. Doubt. _I can think of a few people you'd just love to get your hands on..._ Unbidden, the night you lost Brian sprung to the forefront of your mind. Your fingertips pressed harder into the glass.

The screeching of tires. A hard shove. Red on your hands. Flashing lights.

Your Soul pulsed _hard_ and a ripple spread across its surface.

**BEEP BEEP BEEPBEEPBEEP _BEEPBEEP_**

“Whoa! Wh-What's...” Alphys and Sans broke from their conversation (argument?) at the rapid beeping from the screen. Frisk began to smack the glass to try and get your attention back on them but you were already lost to the memories. Tears burned your eyes. Your magic flared.

“(Y/N)! Hey, look at me. It's me, I'm here, it's okay.” Frisk cursed and hurried over to the panel hanging from the ceiling and started to try and end the machine's operations. You were staring at your Soul, your thoughts anywhere but here. You vaguely realized that you were having a panic attack. You'd never had one like this before.

“those stats can't be right.”

You looked up over your Soul to the screen, barely seeing the numbers flashing wildly. Your HP was the only constant. The AT and DF were rising and falling every few seconds by only a few places but in the blank spot representing your MP there were numbers rushing around so quickly that it was impossible to get a proper read on.

“What the hell are you playing at, kid?” Sans was opposite of your Soul again, looking downright pissed. “You come in here, saying you're no threat, then go and pull this? Numbers don't lie. You're an even bigger threat than they were.”

“Wh-Who's 'they'?” You choked out, the sensation of heaviness growing stronger. You felt it in your entire body and around your Soul. The blue consumed it in the next instant as Sans' eye flashed a brilliant cyan. Suddenly you were on your knees and someone was shouting. Frisk?

“She's not doing it on purpose! Look at her! Sans, stop it!” Frisk managed to end the machines operations. The tube began to lift from the bottom. It stopped just over a foot from the base with an angry grinding from above. “SANS! You're going to hurt her! Let her go! Please...”

Your muscles cried out in protest when you tried to pull yourself back up onto your feet. Your limbs visibly shook. Sans' scowl deepened. His hand suddenly curled into a fist and you felt it around your throat.

What the hell was he doing? Why was he doing this? You'd done nothing to him. You'd befriended his brother. Toriel and Frisk liked you too. You'd thought that he'd had liked you on a small scale, too! So why...?

The tears blurring your vision spilled over. A sob wrenched from your throat. You scrambled backwards, every joint in your arms and legs cracking from the effort. You were so _heavy_. Alphys protested loudly, rushing forward to try and wedge herself between you and Sans.

“You're willing to defend her even after seeing those stats? Her magic's volatile and unstable. It'll end up killing someone!” Sans shouted. You felt his magic on you weaken for just a moment but it was enough time to drop down onto your side and slip out from under the glass. Frisk was at your side a moment later, wrapping their arms around you and pulling you up into their body.

Your heart was beating erratically, so loud in your ears that you could barely hear anything else over it. Your head throbbed. Your Soul ached. It was out of the tube now as well, but you couldn't draw it back into yourself no matter how hard you focused on it. The screen froze between numbers.

*LV 1  
*HP 2350/2800  
*AT 80  
*DF 60  
*MP **225%**

***ERROR  
*OVERLOAD**

“Look at me. Focus on me, okay?” Frisk's hands cupped your face and forced you to look up at them. You used the feeling of their palms against your cheeks to ground yourself. Slowly your heart eased its frantic dance and your breathing started to even out. You swallowed hard. This was not how today was supposed to go.

Like, at all.

“Yeah, but we learned some important stuff. All those what-ifs in the car? We got our answers. You'll learn how to control this, I promise. You aren't a threat.” You hadn't realized you'd even spoken until Frisk was answering you. At some point during the altercation you had lost the elastic band keeping your braid secure.

Now your hair was loose and wild and almost seeming to float around your head like you were submerged in water. Your magic, alternating between gold, yellow, and orange, zipped through it like electric sparks from root to tip.

“you can't promise something like that, frisk. There's no guarantee that nothing'll happen.” Whatever Alphys had said to Sans must have helped because he no longer had his magic wrapped around your Soul. You could breathe again. Gratefully you sucked in great gulps of hair, the oxygen helping to tame your own flyaway magic.

“A-Are you okay, (Y/N?” Alphys moved over to your side with a bottle of water in hand. She was mindful to keep her distance from your exposed Soul in her attempt to offer you the bottle. Frisk accepted it on your behalf an opened it for you. They guided your hands around it, but when you displayed trouble keeping a strong enough grasp on it they helped you lift it to your mouth to take a sip.

“I think so? I've never had anyone use magic on me before.” You cast a glare over to Sans. He still wasn't smiling, but at least he wasn't glaring at you anymore. “Alphys, were those numbers actually...”

She looked back to the screen, frowning. “Y-Yes, it appears so. You're overloaded with magic. W-We weren't t-trying to be rude when we said that it was d-dangerous... E-Even monsters need to drain off our excess m-magic! D... Do you know how to?”

You swallowed another gulp of water then pushed it away from you. Frisk capped the bottle and lowered it to their side. “Yeah, but.. it's so exhausting.. and I'm not over the leyline to do it.”

“Leyline?” Frisk and Alphys said at the same time, Frisk with confusion and Alphys with intense curiosity. “You h-have access to a leyline?! N-No wonder your MP is so high! You've p-probably been absorbing more than your S-Soul can process. It's a miracle you haven't... that you haven't...”

“that you haven't killed yourself by overloading.” Sans completed for Alphys. Frisk's arm coiled around your waist and pulled you against their side as tightly as they could. You leaned into their form, grateful for the support. Brian and Frisk would have gotten along so well.

Sans regarded the rather protective embrace with a grimace. “Frisk, it probably ain't a good idea to be so close to her right now. Ya might end up gettin' zapped by all that.” He gestured to your still floating hair and the magic jumping around it. Frisk didn't move away. In fact, they lifted their chin in protest, eyes narrowing. Sweat beaded on Sans' skull.

“We gotta drain off all that extra magic, right?” Sans smiled dryly. He knew where this was going. Frisk continued, encouraged by the nod he begrudgingly gave. “Let's do that then we can go. I'm not at full charge so I can take some of it.”

“no.” Sans shook his skull, crossing his arms in an X in front of him. “you're the last person I want to do something like that. You got a lotta _spine_ to offer, but Tori will break mine if anythin' happens to ya on my watch.” He muttered something under his breath that made Alphys' scales turn orange around the edges. “If anyone's gonna act as a sponge, it'll be me.”

He didn't wait for anyone to approve of the plan before reaching out to grab your Soul.

“No! Don't touch it!”

But it was too late. Your exclamation fell on deaf ears (temples?). You lurched away from Frisk at the same moment Sans' phalanges curled around one side of your soul. Your own grasped the other simultaneously.

A shock-wave of magic exploded between the two of you. It blasted all four of you in the room apart, an arc of electric blues and yellows connecting violently from you to Sans. You slammed against the far wall, pain bursting behind your eyes.

Darkness blanketed your vision as you crumpled into a heap to the floor, blissfully unaware of your Soul sinking back into your chest, a spider web of blue covering the surface...


	11. Seeing Eye to Eye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas everyone! Happy Holidays! Whatever you celebrate, or don't, I hope you have a good day. :)

Grillby had relocated to the Surface a few weeks after the majority of the other monsters. Some had stayed Underground for longer, fearful of the surface and unsure of whether they really wanted to integrate into human society. He had stayed behind for a different reason, but if you asked him now why he hadn't surfaced with everyone else he probably wouldn't be able to give you a straight answer.

It had been rough to get settled in during the first few years. It had taken almost a year before they'd been given any real rights. Another two before they were allowed to move further into human cities. There had been a few setbacks to their progress. There were protests and riots every week. Humans had pushed back against monster rights but in the end it was the monsters that won.

The bar was almost an exact replica of the original location Underground. The only real difference was that the Grillby's above ground was larger and had more tables through the room. His customers were mostly monsters but the last few years had seen more human customers as well. Not many, but enough that he no longer felt nervous when one came in.

There were a few in the bar right now, but they'd chosen the far corner booth and were keeping mostly to themselves. Fuku, a fire elemental in tones of green, was busy moving from table to table taking orders, delivering orders, or cleaning up after patrons had come and gone. She worked with a smile on her face and made pleasant conversation with anyone who attempted to engage with her.

Grillby folded the dry polishing cloth into a rectangle and set it beside the sink. He didn't use that sink very often for _obvious_ reasons. Water didn't do much to harm him in small amounts, but submerging his hands into water was a bad idea. He would not admit that the bright pink elbow-high rubber gloves in the kitchen behind the bar were actually his, nor would he admit that it was his favorite color.

He was a fire monster with a reputation to keep, damn it, and he would not allow a pair of pink rubber dish washing gloves to tarnish it!

It was halfway through the business day when the phone rang. Not the bar phone. His _personal_ cell. No one ever called him.

_Ever_.

He recognized the [ringtone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33B_HO8xhkQ) immediately. Stars how he hated that damn ringtone. He dipped his head down, supporting himself against the counter with both hands. As the annoying jingle continued it drew several curious glances from the customers at the counter. He waved to catch Fuku's attention then stepped through the 'fire exit' door and pulled the phone from the breast pocket of his vest.

“Sans, I swear to Asgore, if you don't change this damn ringtone back to normal...”

“G-Grillby?!”

“Oh!” It.. It wasn't Sans. He felt his face burn a little hotter in realization. “Doctor Alphys?” He frowned. How did Alphys get Sans' phone? He was already grabbing his jacket off the coat rack beside the door and had tugged it on before Alphys even began to explain what had happened.

He gave Fuku the keys to the bar without a word. Bless her Soul, she didn't even ask what was going on, just took the keys, nodded, and wished him luck.

Sans, you absolute fucking _numb-skull_.

 

“S-So that's w-what happened! A-And n-now neither of.. n-neither of th-them are w-waking up!” Alphys wailed at the end of the explanation, obviously distraught and more than a little upset about the turn of events. This was supposed to be a simple soul reading! It wasn't supposed to turn out like this.

Grillby stared down at the unconscious skeleton. Sans' smile was vacant from his face in his sleep. There was an odd shimmer to his bone that Grillby couldn't quite place. It hadn't been there before. It was obviously magic in some way or it wouldn't be there even hours after the events of that morning had occurred.

Powerful magic, by the looks of it. Grillby tried not to sigh too hard.

“D-Do you think y-you can help? I-If anyone would know what t-to do, i-it'd be you. Y-You've been around so long...” Alphys had considered calling Toriel, but hadn't wanted to trouble her with this. She wanted to get this problem fixed before Toriel had even the slightest idea anything had gone wrong. Alphys could handle anything that the fire monster might throw at her. Toriel was another thing entirely.

“..... Maybe. I'm not sure. He just... grabbed her Soul? Without _consent_?” The flames atop his head crackled like a twig snapping in a hearth. This was so much worse than anything Sans had done before. He lifted a hand to his face and passed it across the bright jagged line that was his mouth.

Being literally made of fire meant that he didn't have any real facial features. Sure, he had eyes, a nose, and a mouth but they were never visible unless he wanted them to be. He did usually have something of a nose if only to keep the glasses he wore up on his face. He was young for an elemental but he had experience under his belt.

Hopefully that experience would prove useful today... but Soul bonds? Not just any Soul bond either but a bond between a _monster and a mage_. That was a bad idea on so many goddamn levels.

“Y-Yes. W-We needed to help her d-drain off the excess m-magic in her Soul. I th-thought we would try to have her do a f-few of the exercises that monsters use when they have too m-much to process naturally... b-but I think maybe he got ahead of himself?” Alphys knew she was making excuses for Sans but she didn't know what else to do. “He's the resident Soul expert, so maybe he thought he could handle it?” She whispered, nervously shifting from one foot to the other. Her hands were wringing together so forcefully that her scales had begun to turn white at the edges.

Grillby reached forward and gently wrapped his hands around hers to calm her nerves. His fire was scorching but he had enough control to not burn anyone. Not that Alphys would have been easily burned. She was from Hotland. Fire, lava, and steam were all part of her upbringing. He doubted he would be able to do any damage with a simple touch even if he wanted to.

“Calm yourself, my dear. We will figure this out. For now, here's what we should do...”

 

Sans' skull was pounding. There was a pressure behind his sockets that was keeping him from moving. It felt like he'd taken one of his own Gaster Blaster attacks. There was another pressure against his teeth and the feel of something warm on his chin.

“About time you woke up. Drink this. You'll feel a little better.”

“Grillby?” He cracked open a eyesocket only to squeeze it shut a second later. Grillby was too bright to look at right now. He didn't want to do anything except sleep but he knew that wasn't going to happen. The pressure against his teeth increased. A cup, he realized, and a hand on his chin trying to pry his teeth apart.

He exhaled a huff and conceded. His teeth parted and cold liquid dribbled into his jaws. It vanished as it passed his teeth, immediately offering relief to the splitting migraine. He drank as long as Grillby deemed appropriate. He'd learned long ago that there was no arguing with him over stuff like this.

The cup and hand retreated. Sans heard a shuffling of clothing as Grillby twisted around to set the glass on the desk. Sans slowly opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. His vision was blurry and his bones felt weird. He felt incredibly heavy and also... remarkably light... at the same time. Slowly, he pushed himself up into a sitting position on the bed.

Wait.

He looked around the room and took in the scene. This was one of the recovery rooms in the lab. Sans had been laying on the single cot tucked away in the corner of the room. There was no decoration here. The room itself wasn't large as a nine by nine foot cube. No paintings, flowers in vases, or fancy wallpaper either.

Just the cot with its thin mattress (covered in a white sheet, white blanket, and white pillow), a metal framed desk (also painted white), and an uncomfortable guest chair (wanna guess what color it is?) currently turned to face the cot. The fluorescent lights above the room were rectangle and bright. He'd always hated these rooms.

“How do you feel?”

Grillby's voice was low and guarded. Sans did not that it was directed at him. He'd heard that tone many times before. There was a word for it. Disappointed. Ah, Sans realized, he must have been made aware of the situation.

“uh... fine, I guess? _bone tired_ , heh.”

Sans avoided Grillby's eyes as best as he could. Unfortunately, there really wasn't anything in the room that provided any distraction so it only took a few seconds before his attention was brought back to the flame elemental sitting at his bedside. Hoo, boy...

“You are the dumbest smart person I have ever met, Sans.”

HOO, BOY! A chill rushed up Sans' spine as Grillby's flames sparked atop his head and leaped several inches higher. Magic beaded on his skull and he had to fight the instinct to teleport right out of the room. “i may not have thought it through before acting--”

“That's the understatement of the century. You not only forcibly created a soulbond between a monster and a human,” Grillby was standing now, towering over the skeleton intimidatingly, with one hand on his hip and the other pointing accusingly in Sans' face. “But a _mage_ , at that. Do you have any idea what this could mean?”

“uh... not really?”

Grillby slapped his hands down on the chair and roughly pushed it back into place under the desk. “Neither does anyone else! Sans, this has never happened before. No one knows what to expect. There's been human and monster soulbonds before but never a mage and monster.” He straightened up and took a deep breath. His chest expanded and when he exhaled there was a curl of silvery smoke on it.

There was no point in getting upset. If it had been another monster then perhaps Grillby wouldn't be so worked up over it... but this was _Sans_ , one of the few monsters that he considered a friend. Not just a friend either, but, dare he say it, a son. Sans and Papyrus were family. He felt a responsibility over the brothers ever since he took them in when they were practically babybones.

“grillbz... i'm sorry. I wasn't thinkin'. I'm gonna figure out how to undo this, I jus' need some time, is all.” Sans reached up a hand and scratched awkwardly at his neck. The sound of bone on bone was grating and uncomfortable. “will you help me?”

Grillby didn't say anything. Then again, he didn't need to. Sans grinned.

 

Three rooms down the hall on the opposite side you lay on your own cot. You were already awake, but hadn't made any attempt to get up. Your head hurt, your Soul hurt, _everything_ hurt. You were also exhausted but you couldn't sleep anymore. How long had you been out, anyway?

Slowly you moved your arms up and pushed the blanket off of you. Your muscles were screaming in protest. Your back throbbed. You remembered slamming into the wall when you and Sans had grabbed your Soul at the same time. That explained the soreness across your back and the tender spot on the back of your skull.

Your eye really hurt too, but only the left. You chalked it up to just a residual effect from all that excess magic that had been zipping around you. There were no mirrors in the room to give yourself a proper inspection for damage. You were glad – you hadn't cared for looking at yourself before now, you sure as hell didn't want to do it after _that_.

Carefully you sat up on the bed (“More of a cot, really.” You'd muttered as soon as you'd had a chance to orient yourself) and swung your legs over the side. You noticed that you still had your boots on and were thankful. There was no doubt that the tile would be cold. The room was so... bland. Everything was a pristine white.

A cot, desk, and chair were the only real furniture in the room. There were no paintings, plants, or windows to add any character. It made you think of a quarantine sort of set up. An almost bitter feeling bubbled in low in your gut. Of course you'd be put into quarantine. You were _dangerous_ , weren't you? Unstable.

_A threat_.

You stood from the bed and turned to pull the blanket back up to the pillow then stepped back to look around the room. There was literally nothing else here. There wasn't even any texture on the walls or ceiling to look at.

The sound of a latch clicking drew your attention to the door. It swung open and Alphys pushed through, followed closely by Frisk and Toriel. You looked between them with surprise.

“(Y/N)!”

“My dear!”

Frisk and Toriel hurried to you. You were immediately wrapped up tightly in Frisk's arms. The relief and concern rolling off of them made you both relax and stiffen in turn. Toriel's large paw came up to rest on the top of your head. You turned it to look up at her with what you hoped was a reassuring smile.

Then you noticed something strange. There was a very faint purple glow surrounding her. Your smile slipped. You glanced over at Alphys who was standing off to the side, nervously wiping her glasses clean with the soft inner fabric of her lab coat. A similar, if not much more subtle, yellow glow surrounded her.

“You had us so worried!” Frisk pulled back from the embrace to give you some room. Their glow was stronger then Alphys' but not as strong as Toriel's. “I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do to help? Can I get you anything?”

Toriel placed her free hand on Frisk's shoulder and shook her head gently. “Calm, my child. There is little we can do right now. It may be best to simply give (Y/N) some room and allow some time to adjust.” Frisk didn't look very reassured by that, but nodded and took another step back.

“I'm okay, Frisk. I mean.. my head kinda hurts, but yeah.” You shrugged. Toriel drew her hand back and dipped it into her opposite sleeve. She was wearing the same robe she'd been in that morning, you noticed. She probably hadn't had much time to throw anything else on before she'd been called.

You snuck a glance at Alphys. She was still scrubbing at her glasses, though you suspected that it was just to keep her hands busy by this point. If she rubbed any harder she'd end up scratching the lenses. It probably hadn't been her that had called Tori, you rationalized. There was no way someone as anxious and as generally awkward as Alphys was could handle a call of that magnitude to the queen of monsters herself.

It must have been Frisk.

“Can someone please tell me what exactly happened?” You finally voiced. Alphys jumped a little but moved forward to carefully wedge herself into the space between you and Frisk. She cleared her throat then reached into one of her coat pockets and produced a small bottle of murky amber liquid. “Is that... whiskey? Because I get the feeling that I'm gonna need a drink after all of this.” Your joke fell flat but Toriel gave a giggle anyway.

“N-No, b-but it'll help your headache. G-Grillby made it f-for you and S-Sans.” She explained, untwisting the metal cap on the top of the bottle and handing over to you. You took it with a slight grimace. The bottle was oddly warm and you could feel the hum of magic beyond the glass. “So d-drink up. I'll explain as best as I c-can about wh-what I know.”

Well, bottoms up. You tipped the mouth of the bottle against your lips and gulped the contents down. You didn't gag but it was hard not to. It didn't taste anything like you'd expected. It was sickeningly sweet, like concentrated honey, but burned on the way down like the whiskey you'd jokingly called it. That burn gave way to an icy sensation as it settled in your stomach. It spread through your body to the spots that hurt the most. Before you knew it the aches were decreased to throbs so dull you hardly noticed them at all.

“Wow. Whoever this Grillby guy is sure knows how to make a drink. Bet he'd make a _tonic_ cash if he marketed that.” Alphys took the empty bottle and recapped it. She didn't put it back into her pocket but instead clutched it tightly against her chest.

Frisk moved over to the cot and sat down on it with their back against the wall. You joined them, settling in front of them between their knees, leaning back to their chest. Their arms moved protectively around you and their chin rested on your shoulder. You noticed that they were shaking but they were doing a very good job at keeping the trembling to a minimum.

Toriel offered Alphys the seat but the drake insisted that Toriel sit instead. She said the explanation wouldn't take too long and that she had to go check on Sans as soon as she was done here.

So after Toriel was settled onto the chair (no one mentioned that it creaked under her weight – it had obviously been designed for a human of average weight, not a super tall monster like the queen) Alphys began explaining. It started with Frisk setting up the appointment to get you in so they could check your stats. She left out no detail, moving through them quickly and without too much stuttering.

Until she got to the part where your stats were on the screen and Sans had been irrationally upset about them for some reason. She began to twist her fingers around each other. “Th-Then Sans w-went to start draining off the extra magic and... and they both touched her soul at the s-same time.” She finished, adjusting her glasses.

“And their magic rebounded off each other and now they are bound together by it?” said Toriel, looking lost in thought. Alphys nodded. You felt Frisk stiffen behind you and you pressed your hands over theirs against your stomach to give the some kind of reassurance. They huffed out a sigh.

“That's what it sounds like.” Frisk spoke up sharply. They were still pissed that Sans had acted so recklessly. “You'd think that Sans would have been smarter about it. He didn't ask if it was okay, he just... just grabbed it! Isn't he supposed to be an expert on all things Soul related?” They buried their face into your shoulder with a groan of anger and frustration, muttering about how much of an idiot Sans could be.

“What do you mean exactly by 'bound together'? Like, a literal soulbond? I thought that required consent from both monster and human?” You asked, confusion quickly growing. Very little of this was making sense now and you really just wanted to go home. Toriel's paw tapped your knee encouragingly. You gave her a small smile.

“Y-Yes, it does... b-but you aren't a normal h... a normal h..” Alphys sounded breathless and had started squeaking whenever she tried to continue. Toriel took over for her.

“You aren't a normal human, my dear. You're a mage. There are rules for human and monster bonds but those rules have become more like... guidelines, I'd say, in this case. Mages and monsters have never before been bonded like this. We always thought it was impossible since our magics are so drastically different. What you and Sans have done,” (“Mostly Sans,” Frisk grumbled) “has never happened before. Truthfully, (Y/N), no one knows what will happen now.”

You leaned back a little more heavily against Frisk, rolling this information through your head over and over. This was so heavy. You didn't know what to say. What could you say?

“Okay.” You took a deep breath then eased forward to untangle yourself from Frisk. Your hands rose up to your eyes and you rubbed at them. The headache was gone but the burn in your eye was still there and it was starting to bother you. “So I've got monster magic stuck to my Soul. That explains the colors.”

“C-Colors?” Alphys' interest was piqued. “Wh-What do you mean?”

Your eyes stayed closed as you pulled your hands through your hair and tucked it back as best as you could. When you opened your eyes Toriel gave a sharp, startled gasp. Alphys looked abruptly pale and was stuttering out something incoherent.

“I'm seeing these super faint glows around you guys. Purple around you,” You looked to Toriel, noticing how her eyes were wider now than they'd been a few minutes ago. “Yellow around you,” You looked to Alphys and she fell silent to stare at you. Specifically, at your left eye. “And red around you, Frisk.” You turned to glance back at them, but from the right so they weren't seeing what the others had.

“Y-Your eye... oh gosh, your eye.”

“... Uh... What about it? Wait, is that why you're all lit up?” You raised your hands to your eyes again, trying to figure out what was there that you couldn't see. You didn't know what it could be until you felt an iciness around the tips of your index and middle finger as they dipped into the left socket.

Where an eyeball _definitely should have been_ but was quite obviously missing.

A bolt of fear shot through you and magic flared in the empty socket. It lit up the room in a flash of cyan and gold that lasted only a few seconds. By the time it had faded away, Toriel had already pulled out a compact mirror from her sleeve (you briefly wondered if she had the same kind of magic in her sleeves as you did in your house to make them bigger on the inside or something similar along those lines) to hold up in front of you.

Your stomach churned at your reflection staring back at you. You looked normal other than your left eye. Rather, instead of an eye there was nothing but a black void so dark that no light escaped. That is aside from the sharp, glowing pinprick of white serving as the iris. The same glowing light that served as Sans' own eyes.

Toriel waited until you'd had a good look before putting the mirror away and clearing her throat. “Well, that's one thing we should... _keep an eye on_!”

At least someone was able to see the humor in this. This was not going to be fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally we meet Grillby! Sort of. There'll be more direct interaction with everyone's favorite flame monster next time. And we finally see the first immediate changes that's gonna happen to Reader and Sans as we go.
> 
> First mentioned is that Sans' bones now have a slight golden shimmer to them in direct light and will actually glow with the same markings that Reader's own body glow with when he uses his magic. He did not have any changes to his eyes, unlike Reader.
> 
> Reader's first, and so far only, physical change is her eye. It's an empty black void like Sans' with matching white eyelight. There's gonna be a skin change like what happened with Sans' bones, but it's not exactly the same. You'll see what I mean later ;)
> 
> As always, thanks so much for reading and I hope this chapter met your expectations! Check out my tumblr for visual aids, Undertale shitposts, and more. :D
> 
> https://drhughgrection.tumblr.com/


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized as I was writing this that this story is very 'slice of life'. I enjoy writing casual interactions between characters but now things are going to start picking up. In this chapter we introduce the Magus, which is the official branch of government that covers anything and everything to do with mages. They have a bad habit of sweeping in and getting involved when no one wants them to.
> 
> As always I hope you enjoy. Don't forget I have a tumblr!
> 
> [Check it out!](https://drhughgrection.tumblr.com/)

Toriel had insisted you take a few extra nights off of work, saying that your boss would no doubt understand given the events earlier in the week. You'd retorted that you'd already called off two nights in a row and, even though Jaq was a very understanding and kind man, you knew he had a strict absenteeism policy in place. She had, eventually, relented...

On the condition that Frisk accompany you tonight.

“But Jaq has never met Frisk!” You protested weakly, pressing your hands down onto the table on either side of your plate. “He isn't going to like a stranger coming into the club.”

“Nonsense.” Toriel said firmly, taking another bite of the (large) slice of snail pie on her plate. “If Jaq is half as understanding as you claim then he will not mind.” She eyed you almost suspiciously but was smiling. You tried to hold eye contact but she was pretty intimidating when she had made up her mind.

“A-And what if Frisk doesn't want to go?” You made another attempt to change her mind. Toriel arched a brow and looked past you to the living room where Frisk was sitting on the couch watching some reality show on TV. The volume was far too high, in your opinion, but you didn't say anything. It wasn't your place to scold them.

“I doubt they will mind.” Toriel scooped the last bite of her pie into her mouth then stood up to carry her plate into the kitchen. “Would you, Frisk?”

Frisk looked over to Toriel at their name, a fork wound tight with spaghetti halfway raised to their mouth. They quickly gulped the bite already in their mouth, half chewed, down to answer. “Who done what now?”

You smiled then busied yourself by shoveling the last few bites of your own spaghetti into your mouth. Papyrus had brought over the noodles the night before. He'd made too much, he claimed, and any friend of his was sure to be overjoyed to be presented with such a gourmet dish like this.

It wasn't gourmet by any means but it was pretty good and you and Frisk had all but devoured the entire Pyrex bowl full over the next day. You were planning on inviting him over for dinner in a few days as thanks... which meant that Sans would be tagging along. You knew it, Frisk knew it, Toriel knew it. Would it offend Papyrus if you specified to come alone?

Probably.

“Would you be alright with accompanying (Y/N) to her work tonight? I am not yet comfortable allowing her to go anywhere alone yet.” Toriel glanced at you and you tried to hide your irritation by chewing the noodles until they were little more than a mush of starch and tomato sauce.

_Allowing_ you? You liked Toriel and you truly appreciated her concern but she was _not_ your mother and had no say in what you did or didn't do.

Frisk agreed readily to go with you then turned back to their show. You took your time collecting the dirty dishes and even longer washing them.

 

It was jazz night at Club Magenta. Not your favorite type of music but still enjoyable. There were nights were music was themed, usually one night every other week. The music would be chosen by the classic method of pulling a slip of paper out of a hat at the end of the last themed night. The time before last had been hip hop, and the one before that was romantic dance.

The club wasn't as busy as it usually was. The main music of the club was electronic and house. Jazz didn't have as large of an appeal to mages. You suspected that it was because the chill and easy groove of jazz wasn't felt the same way as the others. If you'd had to choose between them, you'd pick electronic and house any day.

“I don't think jazz is that bad.” Frisk said, seated comfortably in one of the chairs behind the DJ booth. Jaq hadn't put up any argument when they had walked in with you. He'd been delighted to meet Frisk, actually, shaking their hand with vigor and bringing them their first drink personally. On the house, he'd said. When you'd asked were yours was he'd said that you got your drinks free anyway.

“It's not,” you responded, starting up the next [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sI_Ps7JSEk) in the queue. This one was more of a collection of songs so you knew it'd last through the end of your shift. You would pop in every now and again to keep things moving along when someone would request a specific song but you mostly were just keeping an eye on the crowd now. “It's just that our target audience comes here for the kind of music you can feel in your bones. It helps us unwind, y'know?”

Frisk did not know. They'd never had the same issue that you had with their magic. It had always been in control for them. Frankly, they didn't understand how utterly frustrating it was to never be in control. Even if before now that control had meant that your magic was basically non-existent. You wanted to be able to use it as you pleased. Not whenever it decided to act with a mind of its own. The only time you seemed to have any conscious effect on it was through the music you played here.

“I guess. I like this, though. It's nice. Undyne would like this, too. Hey, you ever hear back from her about that piano in the attic?”

You huffed a sigh and leaned back in your chair. It creaked quietly under your weight. “No!” You spun your chair around and lifted your feet to put them on Frisk's lap. They began to move their fingers up and down your shins in gentle taps, mimicking the jazzy piano tunes. “I got their number from Alphys but I guess she's probably swamped with work or something... Also possible that Undyne's claws can't use a touchscreen easily, too, BUT anyway...”

Frisk laughed. “Well, the sooner we get Paps over for dinner, the sooner we'll see her again. She tends to tag along any time there's free food involved and she'll bring Alphys with her, too. So yeah, we should at least triple – no, quadruple – whatever it is you planned on making for Paps 'cuz there wont be enough otherwise.”

“I don't think they'll be able to eat _that_ much...” You were skeptical but if the amount of pasta that Papyrus had brought over just yesterday was any indication then Frisk was probably right. And if that was just the leftovers from what he'd made for him and Sans, then... Your wallet was already crying. “On second thought...”

Frisk grinned, raising their glass to you as if to say 'see?!' before lifting it up to their mouth and draining the contents in two large gulps. You envied their ability to down alcohol like it water. If you tried that you'd be on your ass faster than you could finish the drink!

You were about to say something when the music quite abruptly ended. What? You immediately dropped your feet from Frisk's lap and jumped up to turn to your equipment. “Uh...” You frowned, checking all the immediate possible reasons why the music would have stopped. But... there were no problems? Every setting and screen was going, you could see the progress bar under the track on screen. It was still playing but there was no sound.

A confused murmur moved through the crowd, several already demanding the music continue. You looked over at the bar where Tilly had begun to look rather nervous. She wasn't looking in your direction though. Her eyes were trained on the entrance. Specifically, at the trio of mages that had just entered.

“Shit.”

You didn't have a chance to take up the microphone at your station to address the crowd. When you reached for it you found another hand was already wrapped around it. Your eyes followed the gloved hand up the attached arm and then up even farther, farther, until you saw the unnaturally tall woman glaring down at you.

She picked the microphone up and spoke into it, her voice resonating in a way that you felt down to your core. Her aura color was a dark green, but like every other that you'd seen so far it was hazy and, in the constantly shifting lights of Club Magenta, difficult to focus on.

“This is official Magus business. The club is closed. Everyone not on staff is to vacate the building immediately.”

There were few things that could clear out a room of mages. Fewer yet that would clear it out so _fast_. The Magus were not known for their patience. Within minutes the club was entirely empty except for you, Frisk, Jaq, Tilly, and the four Magus government officials.

Silently, you reached forward and turned off the power to your equipment. Of course something like this would happen tonight of all nights.

Once the club was emptied, the woman who had addressed the crowd turned and gestured for you and Frisk to follow her out of the booth and around to the side past the bar. The three other officials followed behind at a distance half way then two split away. One moved up the stairs to the second floor and the other circled back around the room to the front door.

Your palms were suddenly clammy and your eyes were darting left and right quickly. The dark shades you wore had a spell placed on them. You could see through the black lenses but no one else could see in. You hoped that they wouldn't need to be removed during this meeting.

Shit. This meeting. You felt Frisk's hand slip into yours. Their fingers linked between your own and squeezed. You returned the pressure, fearing that if you squeezed any harder you'd amputate them at the knuckles.

The woman, who you decided to call Green because of her aura color, pushed open the door to Jaq's office as though she had every right to be there.

Which, you supposed, she technically did. All of these types of places were under close watch by the Magus officials, mostly just so they were aware of any unauthorized magic usage. You hadn't thought much about it before now but you were quite abruptly very aware that your magic was no longer what the Magus would normally authorize.

Not that they could control what kind of magic a Mage had, but they kept the more dangerous types under very close watch. You'd even heard of some mages, like those with magic so strong they could manipulate death itself, had been taken into custody and had their magic soaked up just as fast as it could be produced. It was not a fate you'd wish on anyone.

Green took Jaq's chair behind the desk and waited for you and Frisk to claim the others on the opposite side. You sat first, followed by Frisk in the seat next to you. The one official that had followed along stayed just outside the door with their back to it, though it remained open. You knew they were listening in.

“My name is Suzy Smith.” Green... er... Suzy introduced herself finally. Having a name to associate with the face helped to ease the tension in the room. “Rank E. I have been assigned to your case.”

“My case?”

“Her case?”

You and Frisk shared a nervous look. Suzy nodded. The action did little to reassure either of you, not even paired with the smile that might have been intended to be pleasant. Suzy was a towering woman of over six feet tall, with broad shoulders and muscles for days. Her skin was a dark mahogany hue. Her eyes were just as rich a brown as her skin and her hair was the darkest ebony you had ever seen. She reminded you of an amazon with how built she was.

“Yes.” She held eye contact with both of you in turn, though she seemed to have trouble figuring out exactly where your eyes were behind your shades. It didn't make it any less intimidating. Your throat ached with the need to swallow your nerves, but you worried that doing so would give away how nervous you actually were. You swallowed anyway.

“Are you going to elaborate, orrr....?” Frisk asked after several long seconds of silence. Suzy 'ahem'ed quietly and folded her hands on the desk. You noticed her nails were trimmed short and polished to a shine.

“My apologies. Your case, yes. It's come to our attention that you,” She looked at you and you sat up a little straighter, “have been taken under the care of Frisk Dreemur as their student. Is our information correct?”

You relaxed. So this _wasn't_ about your new monster-mage soulbond. You relaxed. Frisk's grip on your hand became more gentle. You hadn't realized they'd been clutching you as tightly as you'd been them. “Yes, that's correct. We thought it would be best that I finally start learning how to control my magic properly.”

Suzy interlocked her fingers and tapped the pads of her thumbs together. “Our records do show you have low magical potential and, as a direct result, low control over what magic you do possess. It's good that you were able to obtain a teacher. As you know, the Magus would normally assign a tutor to mages with a higher potential than you currently have.”

Ouch. You tried not to let it bother you. She was only stating facts. Even if that fact was that you were, in your own words, a shitty mage.

“But it is neglectful of us to have overlooked you for this long. If I may be frank, your MP has been far below the minimum output required for us to intervene up to this point. That said our monitoring personnel have reported an unexpected increase in your magic levels. This is the purpose for our meeting tonight. We apologize for the suddenness of our arrival. There simply wasn't time to set up an official appointment.”

You wondered why. Was something going on in the Magus?

“We would like use this time tonight to set up a date for you and Frisk to come to our headquarters for an evaluation.”

“Evaluation?” You parroted, frowning. “I've only just started to learn under Frisk. Wouldn't it be better to wait until I've had more time to progress?”

“Nonsense, (Y/N). There's no time like the present. If we begin monitoring your progress now, from the beginning of your official training, then we will have a much better recording of your progress.”

You didn't like this, but what choice did you really have? You nodded slowly. “Okay... I'm available next Sunday. Would that work?”

“Of course. 9 AM.” She stood and was suddenly holding a business card out to you. You accepted it with your free hand. “Sharp. The Magus does not tolerate tardiness so do not be late. Dress comfortably.”

And just as suddenly as they'd appeared, Suzy and company swept from the room and left you, Frisk, Jaq, and Tilly alone in the room.

“Never did like the Magus.” Tilly spoke up from the corner. “They always stick their nose where it doesn't belong.”

“Yeah...” You muttered. “Always.”


	13. Dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much fun writing this chapter. We finally experience our first shared dream with Sans, though neither of you are aware yet that the dream was mutual. As always I hope you enjoy!
> 
> [I have a Tumblr!](https://drhughgrection.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Make sure to check it out. It's mostly Undertale related. :) Everything regarding TMIY will be tagged with #The Magic in You. Thanks so much!

_”This feels like a dream.”_

_The crunch of snow underfoot filled the silence between you and Sans. Your experience with dreams was rarely pleasant, so you were glad that it was as tame as it was this time. Assuming that it was a dream, anyway. You'd take it over the nightmares any time._

_“it might be.” Sans responded, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his hoodie. His eyelights darted around the scene. It wasn't what you'd expected. It was the Underground. Specifically, the path leading away from the Ruin's door closer to the bridge with spaces between the blocking bars in front too large to prevent anyone from passing. “must be dreamin' if we aren't arguing.”_

_Your lips twitched in a small smile. “Well... if it's a dream then I don't know if I really want to wake up yet.” You felt less inhibited here than in the waking world. You probably wouldn't even remember this when you woke up anyway. “There's a lot of shit going on right now. It's nice to be able to ignore it for a while.”_

_You pulled your hood up over your head then slipped your hands inside the hoodie pockets. Walking side by side with Sans was weird but relaxing. Your shoes crunched through the snow, breaking a thin layer of ice on the surface with a satisfying crackle. For a while that was the only noise either of you made._

_You passed over the bridge in silence then, eventually, made your way to Snowdin. The town was just as bright as you'd imagined it would be, but despite the sparkling lights and warmth coming from the windows of all the buildings it was abandoned. It must have been like this for a long time. Any other prints in the snow had long since been filled in with fresh snow._

_“I'm still mad at you, you know.” You spoke up suddenly, casting Sans a sharp glare that had no real heat behind it. “For all of this.” If he hadn't been so damn hasty in the lab then you'd still be a normal human. As normal as a mage could be, anyway._

_“yeah, i know. nothing to be done about it now though.”_

_You huffed at his answer, shoving your hands deeper into your pockets. You both walked in silence a little longer until Sans slowed to a stop in front of a two story house. Unlike all the other places in town there were no lights on in this one. The windows were dark. There were two mailboxes on the left side. One overflowed with letters and the other was empty. Several inches of snow covered both and the flags had a layer of ice keeping them permanently up._

_“Sans? What's wrong?” You backtracked until you were at his side again. He was staring up at the house. You mirrored him and took in the sight. As far as houses went it was pretty simple. Not very large. Two stories, with only a few windows. Garlands of lights shaped like jalapeno peppers were strung up along the gutters and twisted around the support beams around the door._

_“... nothin'. let's keep going.” He started to pass you but you reached out and caught his sleeve before he could get by. He stopped. “look, i really don't think we should...”_

_“Come on, Sans, you can't honestly tell me that you don't want to go inside? I bet it hasn't changed at all.”_

_You gave him a smile but released his arm and hurried up to the door. His half-hearted protest fell flat as he followed behind you. Your fingers twisted around the knob and pushed inward._

_The door swung open silently and a gust of icy air swept around you. The interior of the house was pitch black beyond the door, filling the frame with a solidness that was beyond anything you'd ever encountered before. “That's... weird...”_

_You turned to say something to Sans but a pair of hands lurched out from the thick inky darkness behind you. One wrapped tight around your jacked and yanked you back while the other curled tight around your neck, cutting off the scream bubbling from your throat. You fell backwards into the dark with the hands dragging you down._

 

Sans fell back onto his bed with a gasp, magic whipping around the room. It picked up anything loose and threw it violently in random directions. A dream. Just a dream.

He tried to calm the pounding in his Soul and reign in his magic. Slowly it receded and the glow in his eyesocket eased as well. The last of the items flying around dropped to the floor with varying thuds or soft 'paffs' as they landed. Books, trinkets, socks, and papers lay in disarray. Clothing had been torn from hangers in his closet and now lay in crumpled heaps wherever they pleased.

He spied a pair of boxers hanging from the ceiling fan. A sock had landed on his head. He dragged it off and tossed it aside. He didn't pay attention to where it landed.

Air. He needed air. Was his bedroom always so stifling and so _warm_?

Sans pulled himself out of bed and staggered towards the door. He paused long enough to grab his hoodie and pull it on, stepped into his bright pink slippers, then stepped out of his room. The door shut with a loud click that bounced through the house.

It was all the sound needed for Papyrus's own door to bounce open. It hit the wall with enough force to make it shoot right back off and snap closed again. Sans tried not to laugh; his grin widened. Just being out of his room felt better, even if the static of residual magic still lingered on his bones.

“SANS!” Papyrus opened his door again, more gently this time, and came bounding out eagerly. He held his phone in one hand and a pair of shoes in the other. “WE HAVE BEEN INVITED OVER TO DINE WITH TORIEL AND THE HUMANS!”

“yeah, bro? sounds like an _ice_ time.” He jerked his thumb towards the window in the living room. Its blinds were open to show that it had been snowing. Papyrus looked over just for a second before releasing a sigh of irritation.

“FRISK WISHES TO KNOW WHAT TIME WE WANT TO COME BY! THEY SAID THEY ARE MAKING....” He paused, looked at his phone screen again, then continued, “SPAGHETTI CASSEROLE! I HAVE NEVER HAD SPAGHETTI AS A CASSEROLE BUT IT IS SPAGHETTI SO IT MUST BE AMAZING!”

Sans' shoulders drooped slightly but he kept his grin lazy and comfortable. Papyrus didn't need to know that he'd had another of his nightmares. A tamer one this time, but he couldn't call it just a dream. It was more than that. Felt too real, too _intimate_.

“can't be better than yours, Paps. it's im _pasta_ ble to outdo your cooking.” He paused to allow Papyrus to let out another screech at the admittedly lame pun then asked, “will (Y/N) be there?” Stupid question.

“OF COURSE! IT IS HER HOME, AFTER ALL! FRISK SAYS IT WAS HER IDEA TO INVITE US OVER! I WILL TEXT UNDYNE IMMEDIATELY! SHE WILL SURELY WISH TO COME ALONG!”

Of course you'd be there. He didn't know what he was thinking. So... why did the thought of seeing you make him feel so... light?

Papyrus pulled on the shoes he was carrying and hurried down the hall to the kitchen. “I SHALL PREPARE A DESSERT! A GOOD GUEST ALWAYS BRINGS A GIFT FOR THE HOST!”

“great idea, Paps. you do that... i'm gonna get some air.”

 

Three hours later there was a knock on your front door. You didn't hear it at first. Undyne had helped you move the piano down from the attic to the living room. It was now settled next to the patio doors facing outward towards the rest of the room so the light from the glass shone on the keys. The couch had been moved a few feet to make room for the instrument so now the furniture arrangement felt awkward.

You doubted you'd keep the piano there but for now it was fine. Undyne had proved to be much more knowledgeable about it than you'd expected. You'd heard from Frisk that she'd be the one to go to about getting it fixed up. You hadn't thought she'd be able to do it in just a few minutes then expertly tap out a full piano cover of some anime theme song.

Attack on Titan, she'd enthusiastically told you, her fingers flying over the keys. Alphys was in the kitchen with Toriel helping her finish up the last of dinner. The casserole was the last thing to finish, since it was the main course and she'd wanted it to be fresh and piping hot for when Papyrus and Sans arrived.

You didn't know why you'd agreed to have them still come over after Suzy had shown up at Club Magenta last night. You'd been so exhausted and so _done_ with everything. Company was the last thing you'd wanted... but Frisk had been persuasive and eventually you'd relented. Plans for dinner had been made, Toriel had been thrilled, Frisk had been Frisk.

“MY QUEEN! ALPHYS, UNDYNE! HUMANS! THE _GRRRREAT_ PAPYRUS HAVE ARRIVED! And my lazy brother, Sans. WE HAVE BROUGHT DESSERT!”

You looked up from the dizzying speed of Undyne's fingers on the piano keys at Papyrus' deafening greeting. Undyne smashed her hands down on the piano and jumped up, almost leaping over it. “PAPYRUS! Good timing! I'm _starved_ , what'ja bring?!”

You claimed the bench seat for your own after greeting Papyrus from where you'd stood beside the piano. Papyrus and Undyne talked animatedly about the dinner and how nice it was to have everyone together like this again. Papyrus mentioned in passing that Grillby would have come if he hadn't had a bar to run (“yeah, he's really gonna _burn_ himself out if he keeps going like this,” Sans laughed with a shit-eating grin on his face at the groan it earned from Papyrus and the playful swat from Undyne). He'd also mentioned something about a monster named Muffet preferring sweets to actual food.

They both sounded interesting just from the names. You recalled Grillby's name from the recovery room in the lab. He'd been the one to make the tonic that had helped you feel better. You hoped he was as nice as the tonic had made you feel.

You tapped out a few notes experimentally, so light that the notes barely made any sound at all. You just played whatever you felt to play. There were a lot of people in the house. You could feel the warm buzz of their magics surrounding you and filling every inch of the room with energy. Soon you'd started to press the keys a little harder.

You didn't know if there was a name for the playful [melody](https://youtu.be/KwVaNne1IRw?t=23m48s) but you didn't have more than a few seconds to think about one before Sans was looking at you over the back of the piano. You jumped, startled out of the zone. Your hands slipped on the keys, making a loud and uncomfortable mash of notes. Quickly you pulled the wooden cover down over the ivories and stood up.

“hey,” Sans grinned at you. “Paps made peach cobbler for dessert. hope you don't mind.”

You stepped around the bench and gave Sans a somewhat weary smile, but you were thankful for the interruption. Your left eye was starting to throb. Raising a hand to rub it did little to alleviate the feeling. “Nah, I don't mind. Sorry, just... lost in my own little world.” Your hand lowered to your throat, your fingertips gently lingering.

The feeling of the phantom hands in your dream rose to mind again. They'd been as hard as marble and just as smooth.. yet somehow they'd been able to leave a large bruise in their exact shape. They weren't visible now, though. When you'd woken and seen the bruising in the mirror you'd done a good job at covering them with makeup.

You wouldn't even have known they were there if it weren't for the deep throbbing whenever you turned your head too far one way.

“hey, (Y/N), uh... would you mind if we talked for a bit after dinner? i think there's a few things we need to get out in the open.” Sans suggested, falling into step beside you as you walked from the living room to the kitchen. Frisk and Alphys had already set the table for the group and Papyrus had helped Toriel bring the food out.

You nodded to Sans. “Sure. It's overdue we had a heart to heart chat about...” You gestured between the both of you. Your Soul burned at the closeness. It felt like it was trying to leap out of your chest. Sans' eyes darted down to your sternum as though he sensed it. His own hand rose to awkwardly rub at the same spot on his own chest. “Whatever this is.”

 

“Really? You work in a bakery, Paps?” You were surprised. Papyrus' ribs expanded with pride. “I shouldn't be so surprised! You're such a cinnamon roll, of _course_ you'd have a job as sweet as you!” His ribs deflated with a dramatic sigh.

Undyne slapped her hand onto the table with a hearty guffaw. “Your jokes are as bad as Sans'!” She chortled around a mouthful of potatoes and green beans. Alphys quietly admonished her but she was smiling. Obviously she agreed with her mates opinion.

“YES, HUMAN FRIEND! I WORK WITH MUFFET AT HER BAKERY! I SHALL BRING YOU A BASKET OF MY FAVORITE DINNER ROLLS NEXT TIME WE DINE TOGETHER!” He raised his fork in emphasis. “THESE ARE DELIGHTFUL AS WELL, BUT YOU WILL FIND MY CULINARY EXPERTISE IS NOT LIMITED TO PASTA DISHES ALONE!”

Toriel and Sans were engaged in a conversation peppered with jokes and terrible puns every other sentence. You felt warm and tingly for some reason. You thought it was because of the way that Papyrus was so authentic about everything he said and did, but... the feeling was a little deeper than that. The warmth resonated in your Soul. You glanced over to Sans and wondered if he felt it too.

Probably. You tried to convince yourself that it wasn't jealousy you felt at seeing just how well he and Toriel got along. You had no reason to be jealous. You knew very little about Sans anyway and you weren't interested in getting to know him beyond what you already did. Right? It was just the stupid soulbond (that he forced on you without your consent, you reminded yourself bitterly), right?

“Oh yeah, Papyrus makes the best rolls ever! We'd love to have some next time you come over. Can't wait!” Frisk mirrored Papyrus' pose, eagerness rolling off their form in waves. Their aura shone a little brighter. Papyrus had a soft orange glow around him. It was nice and it suited it.

Papyrus's eyesockets narrowed and a toothy yet suspicious looking grin spread across his face. His eyelights shifted from one side to the other before settling on you. His grin widened.

“OF COURSE! IT'S THE...” he looked to Sans and saw the shorter skeleton with a matching, giddy grin, “ _... YEAST_ I COULD DO!”

The rest of you burst into startled laughter. You were glad you had agreed to have everyone over tonight. Slowly you relaxed into your seat a little further. Your newfound friendships were even sweeter than the peach cobbler you helped dish up for dessert.


	14. The Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Sans have a talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter than I've been doing usually, but I really struggled trying to write this one up. There's no posting schedule for this story, but I wanted to try to get at least one chapter out per week. I hope all the dialogue in this one reads smoother than it felt writing it.
> 
> One on one dialogue is definitely not my strongest point.
> 
> Regardless, here's the chapter at just under 2k words.
> 
> Check out my [Tumblr](drhughgrection.tumblr.com/) for more goodies :)

Sans was trying to look casual and relaxed. It wasn't working. You might not know a whole lot about him in general but you could tell a fake smile when you saw one. It also helped that being so close to him physically made your soul resonate at the proximity. If you could feel it then you knew he could, too.

You didn't know how to feel about that. You weren't upset but you weren't happy, either. It was an odd sort of in between. Actually, you were a little more upset than you wanted to admit but like the dream version of Sans had said, there was nothing to be done about it now.

After dinner everyone had retired to the living room for a movie and hot apple cider that may or may not have been spiked. It totally was and Frisk was the culprit. It was interesting to see Undyne get absolutely hammered. For someone as powerful as she claimed to be, she sure was a lightweight. Two glasses in and she was barely able to keep her sentences straight.

You didn't get a chance to stick around to witness the glory of a drunken Undyne though. When Sans had caught your eye, he'd arched the bone over his right socket. His eyelights had darted from you to the stairs leading up to the attic and back. You'd hesitated but quickly nodded and excused yourself from the group. A few minutes later Sans did the same, claiming he was going out for some fresh air.

No one stopped either of you and you were honestly glad. As much as you didn't want to be alone with Sans, you knew that this conversation was one you both needed to have. You'd both been low-key avoiding each other.

You met Sans upstairs in the attic. It was darkened for the most part, but you'd turned on the small lamp recently added to the stand beside the couch. It flooded a small area in soft yellow light. You looked around for any other lamps to turn on. One light, especially one that gave off such a, well, _intimate_ feeling wouldn't be enough. Or was it too much?

Definitely too much. You didn't want Sans to get the wrong idea. You'd finally found a switch on the far side of the room that powered the LED strips lining the upper borders of the room, illuminating the records on the wall. It helped make things feel less personal.

You'd only just settled down into your work chair when you heard the attic door creak open and the quiet shuffling on Sans' slippers across the floor. He left the door open, which you thought was probably a good idea. Didn't want any... temptation.

Neither of you said anything while he stopped in the center of the room and turned slowly to take in the sight. Other than Frisk, he was the only person to get to spend any real time here. Undyne had been up to help with moving the piano, but she hadn't had much time to really look around.

You found yourself hoping that Sans liked it. Warmth blossomed in your chest, in your soul, as you looked around as well. You were quite proud of how well it had come together.

“this is really cool, (Y/N). I knew you liked music but I didn't realize you had your own studio.”

Your eyes landed on him and saw his own eyelights staring at you. He eased onto the corner seat of the couch. You noticed that he pressed himself back as far as he could into it as if to put as much space between you two as possible. You pretended not to be bothered by it.

“Thanks. Frisk helped a lot. I'll tell 'em you like it.” You responded. Your chair squeaked quietly as you readjusted yourself in it, crossing your legs to get more comfortable. Sans' eyelights lingered for a moment on the movement before he squared his shoulders and cleared a throat he didn't actually have.

“sure, sure. Can we, I dunno, skip the small talk?” He asked stiffly. You arched a brow, the corners of your lips twitching slightly. “Sure,” You answered, crossing your arms and pulling your feet closer to the wheels on your chair. “Let's talk about whatever this is between us.”

Sans eyed you a bit warily then raised a hand and rubbed at his sockets. “this conversation was a lot easier to start in my head. I had this whole thing played out and everything, start to finish.”

“Then start.” You were quickly losing your patience. You'd agreed to come up here and talk with him because you'd thought he'd get right to the point. “Actually, maybe I should.” You took a deep breath and uncrossed your arms. He looked over at you in surprise but said nothing to interrupt.

“Neither of us want this. I can't imagine either of us ever wanting it, to be honest.” You didn't really know for sure how to start. “I'm surprised that I've been so accepting of what happened in the lab. By all reason I should be absolutely _furious_.” You felt a spark inside of you. “And I am... but... getting mad about it won't change that it happened. All we can do now is either try to live with it or figure out a way to end it.”

Sans looked off to the side. He was avoiding your gaze. “i say we figure out a way to end it. This bond wont do either of us any good... so... to do that I think we're gonna have to work together.”

“ _OR_ we could try to spend as little time together as possible and hope the bond weakens enough to break like that. Normal monster and human soulbonds have been able to break just by being apart for a long time, so that might work for us, too.” You said, thinking of the most recent case you knew of. It was at least three years old and rather grim, honestly, but there weren't that many recorded cases of soulbonds breaking once they were made. They were usually a permanent thing, not something fickle and easily ended like a girlfriend/boyfriend relationship.

“it'll take a long time, probably.” Sans told you, crossing his arms almost defensively. “i wish I could say that we could just.. ignore each other.. but that isn't a good way to go about it... it's not like breaking a bad habit, it's more complicated than that. If we do it wrong then it wont just be a bond that's broken, our souls would likely take direct damage.. and I dunno about you, but I like my soul the way it is.”

You flustered a bit, knowing very well that he was right. As always. You wanted to wipe that stupid grin off his stupid face.

“Okay... then may I suggest something practical in the meantime? Until we can figure out a way to at least start to weaken this?”

He paused for a few seconds then nodded. “considering it'll be a while before either of us have any real ideas, sure. Go for it.” He leaned forward a bit, watching you a little more closely now that he saw a flicker of nervousness in your expression.

“Well... all things considered... I think we should probably start learning how to control our magic. I mean, you obviously know how to control yours but _I_ have no clue... and I don't want to have to wear these stupid sunglasses all the time either.”

“but sunglasses are cool. I can't wear them – I don't have ears to hold them up.”

You glared at him from behind the shades then reached up to pull them off only to fling them at him a few seconds later, grumbling, “Use tape.”

They smacked into his chest and dropped down to his lap. He then picked them up and put them on, precariously perched on the bridge of his nasal bone. They wobbled when he grinned a little wider but, somehow, didn't fall immediately fall off.

“okay so you wanna learn how to control your magic. By your magic you mean my magic.” You nodded, leaning back in your seat and crossing your arms again. “it's a good idea. We're stuck together until who knows when... so yeah, I think it's best if we learn what sets each other off.” He suddenly looked less confident than before.

“Well... I'm not sure how different mage and monster magics are. Mages have a lot of different triggers. For me, though?” You gestured around you to the various instruments and devices surrounding the room then to the large display behind you. “This is mine. The only time I seem to have any say in my magic is when I'm listening to music. Gotta feel it, y'know?”

That... really wasn't how Sans' own magic worked. He wondered if he could get used to your magic in his Soul when you yourself didn't know how to use it without a direct trigger. He supposed they would have to just.. figure it out... like everything else...

“well maybe you'll _tune_ into monster magic a little easier than you think.” His grin returned. “say, Grillby's been around a while. If anyone'll have a good suggestion for how to get started, it'll be him.”

“... Okay, but it'll have to be sometime next week. Frisk and I have to go see the Magus. I'll let you know when we'll be available to meet your friend.” You stood up and crossed the short distance over to Sans. You swiped the glasses off his nasal ridge and slipped them back into place over your eyes... but not before giving him a side glance with the glowing pinprick in your left socket.

“Now, if we're done up here, let's get back down to everyone. Knowing Frisk, they've probably started a bet with Undyne and Alphys about whether or not we've been making out or something.”

Sans followed you down the stairs, trying to convince himself that the shiver that had rushed up his spine when you'd looked at him just now was from the cooler temperature in the attic.

He didn't succeed.


	15. Doctor, Doctor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyy, so, uh... Been a while, huh? I had a pretty bad case of writers block for a while. I've been working on this chapter off and on every few days, but it never felt like it was good enough to post. I still don't think it's that great, but yeah. Not gonna lie, this is a lot of filler stuff, but we're going to be moving forward with more of the main Undertale cast in the next chapter (whenever I get around to writing it).
> 
> I don't really have an excuse for this taking so long to write up. I guess I mostly just wanted to take a break from it? I felt like I was burning myself out with popping out so many chapters so closely together.
> 
> While I took my time writing this, I've been working on another Undertale fic. "Starbound" is my newest story, following a fallen star (that's you!) as they make their way through the Underground. It is set before the barrier is broken. There's also a new work of mine that just has basic information about Starbound, including what exactly a Star is and the readers appearance. So it's more of an OC-insert than a reader-insert but still reads the same way. :)
> 
> Without further ado, here's chapter 15 of The Magic in You. I hope you enjoy. :)

“Maggie, I'm so nervous. What if the Magus find out about this?”

You were more than just nervous. You were exhausted, irritated, scared, nervous, and _hungry_. Maggie, bless her soul, had done a good job at helping you take your mind off of the upcoming meeting with the Magus for a while... but there was only so much she could do about everything else.

She pushed the basket of muffins closer to you. The two of you were seated behind the counter of her little occult shop, Webbs and Wands, dining on mini muffins and a pitcher of iced tea that hadn't been steeped quite long enough. You reached into the basket for another muffin and unattractively shoved it into your mouth.

“Don't worry, dear. The Magus hasn't been able to lock onto monster magic with their equipment. Trust me, they've been trying, but the magic's just too different. There's nothing to worry about.”

You were sipping at your tea, the few ice cubes in the glass against each other. Your hands were shaking and your left leg was bouncing uncontrollably. You were lucky it wasn't hitting the underside of the small table. “Yeah? Frisk said that too, but...”

“No buts, (Y/N). No what-ifs.” Maggie threw half of a mini muffin at you. It bounced off your forehead and plopped messily into your cup. Huffing, you dipped your fingers in and fished it out before it could get soggy and leave crumbs in the liquid.

For a moment you contemplated throwing it back at her but you set it down on a napkin instead. “You're right. I shouldn't be so worried about it. I just... I dunno, I don't want them to get involved, I guess? I don't feel like this is any of their business, but you know how the Magus are.”

“Unfortunately,” Maggie muttered, knowing too well how nosy the Magus actually was and wishing she could give you better advice. That was why you'd come here today. For advice. “You're not going alone, though. You'll have Frisk with you. They'll be able to help you if anything does happen, right?”

“... I guess, yeah.”

You hoped nothing would happen.

\-----

“Are you ready?” Frisk asked, watching you pace nervously up and down the small corridor of the Magus headquarters. 'Headquarters' might be stretching it, really. The building was basically a glorified office building built out of brick painted a light gray. It was three stories high, taller than it was wide or long, with a single elevator right in the middle to traverse from floor to floor. There was a basement floor and a maintenance floor below that but it was otherwise pretty generic.

You and Frisk were on the third floor in the hall with the elevator. The hall was lined on both sides with uncomfortable, bright blue plastic chairs that had seen better days. You'd tried sitting to wait for your appointment time with Suzy but your nervous energy had your leg bouncing and your fingers twitching.

“Yes! …. No... I don't know!” You responded after pacing the short length of the hall a few more times, each pass faster than the last. You finally stopped in front of Frisk, who was seated on one of the chairs with their arms crossed and feet tucked beneath the seat. They looked up at you and smiled reassuringly. The tension in your shoulders eased just a little. “I'm nervous. I don't know what to expect.”

“It's nothing to really be concerned about, (Y/N). This isn't my first time in this place. It's like Alphys' machine, except you aren't gonna be in a big tube like that and they wont actually be pulling your Soul out to read your stats. That's how it was when I had to do it, anyway.”

You lowered yourself into the seat beside them and tried to copy their pose. Arms crossed, knees together, feet under the chair. Frisk's short explanation had helped ease your concerns but you were still nervous. For some reason you didn't feel comfortable allowing the Magus to get this close. Mages in general, you supposed. Unlike monsters, who made their intentions clear from the start, mages were.... tricky.

It wasn't that you thought that the Magus would try anything. There weren't any publicly known cases involving the Magus doing anything to bring harm to monsters, humans, or mages. Why would there be? Stuff like that would be kept quiet. You were more concerned about what might happen if they detected the bond in your soul. It wasn't uncommon for mages to have multiple traits but they were usually closely related. Justice and Integrity were literally on the opposite ends of every single Soul Chart you'd seen.

Justice meant righting the wrongs. It meant being lawful and honest and doing everything in your power to be fair. Integrity wasn't much different, its definition being honesty and having good morals. It was about being good and never giving up. Maybe they would see those two colors and conclude that they just went hand in hand... but while having two traits weren't uncommon, having more than two was rarer and you already knew your secondary trait was Bravery.

You didn't feel very brave right now though. You felt scared... but, you thought in the next moment, you couldn't be brave all the time.

It was okay to be scared.

Slowly your legs stopped bouncing and you sank back into your seat. Frisk noticed the change in your posture and shot a warm smile your way. “You can do this.”

“I can do this.” You repeated quietly. “I.. I can _do this!_ It's just a scan. I have nothing to hide.” That wasn't entirely true, but it wasn't like a soulbond was a shameful thing, right? Right!

“(Y/N) (L/N) and Frisk Dreemurr?”

You both jumped at the sudden arrival of the doctor. Was he a doctor? You stood up, followed by Frisk, and looked over to the man standing in front of one of the doors with a clipboard in hand. He looked like a doctor in his crisp white lab coat and fancy clipboard. His hair was a little disheveled but you could tell that he'd come in to work with it neatly combed and styled.

“Yes, that's us.” You stepped towards him and tried to stand straight. He wore a lanyard around his neck. The badge at the end of it read Travis Holson in a black with a small cartoon heart next to it in a deep green. Beneath his name was smaller print reading Lab Technician and Soul Specialist. The green heart must represent his primary trait, you realized.

The kind smile he wore certainly fit the color. “I'm Travis. I'll be your technician this morning. We'll have you in and out in a jiffy Come on in.” He stepped aside so you both could enter the room before following after you and closing the door.

The room was smaller than expected but big enough for the three of you, a desk, and an exam chair that looked more suited for an optometrist office than this setting. It somehow reinforced that this was an examination room and that you were, in fact, here for some kind of procedure. Frisk gently pushed you towards the ~~murder machine~~ contraption and waited for you to sit there before they sat on the leather seated rolling stool.

“So! It's nice to meet you two.” Travis looked eager, if not a bit exhausted, and ready to begin. He looked down at the board in hand as he spoke, talking about getting your vitals down first then continuing on with the actual Soul stuff. You told yourself that this was no different than a normal visit to the doctor.

You murmured quiet reply along the lines of it being nice to meet him too. Could he just get on with the reason for your visit? You sank back into the examination chair awkwardly. Your knees were pressed tight together and you folded her hands over your stomach. 'Folding' was too relaxed of a word, actually – clutching them together into a tight ball was more accurate.

Travis didn't seem to notice your discomfort. If he did, he made no attempt to ease your worries. “Right then! I'm sure you'd like to be out of here ASAP, so let's get right to it. You're here for a Soul Scan. An evaluation. We're gonna pop these little sticky pads onto you and send a few small bursts of magic into you in order to get the readings.”

You glanced at Frisk. They gave a small nod in confirmation that, yes, this is what they had done with them at their own prior visits.

“Okay, doc.”

Travis grinned to you before turning to the desk and pulling open one of the drawers. From inside he withdrew a sealed package of small round stickers. Upon closer inspection (which was you craning your neck to get a better view) you saw that they were the same type of sticky medical pads that you often saw in hospital scenes in movies.

He tugged a pair of latex gloves from a drawer and slid his hands into them then opened the plastic packaging.

“They might be a little cold, just a heads up.” He informed you as he moved to stand at your side. He blocked Frisk from view but they just pushed around on their wheeled stool to your other side so you could still see them. “And here we go...”

Travis peeled the backing off each pad individually and placed them in the correct spots. They were each about the size of a quarter, maybe just a little larger, and were just as cold as he'd warned you that they'd be. You'd shivered at the placement of the first and he'd chuckled before securing the rest. In all there were six.

One for each temple, wrist, and breast. You had almost smacked him when he'd tugged the front of your shirt aside and slipped his hand with the final two past your collar. He'd actually flushed scarlet when he'd realized that he'd done it without any warning and apologized. Your own face was a vibrant hue of pink as you let him finish placing them all. You tugged your collar back up as soon as his hands were gone.

He hadn't actually gone much farther down then your clavicles but you were still embarrassed. Frisk, the little shit, was trying to hide their snickering behind their phone. They were failing.

“Mmkay, (Y/N), you're gonna feel a _slight_ static shock when I activate the monitor...” BZZZZT!! You yelped and slapped your hands over the pads on your chest. “...And there it is! Wow...” You glared at the doctor for a few seconds but turned your attention to the monitor on his desk.

Unlike Alphys' machine in the lab this one didn't display your exact stats. Or, rather, it couldn't. A small yellow heart popped up on the center of the screen before moving to the corner to stop beside your name. Below it were your basic stats. You remembered seeing them briefly in Alphys' lab but these were a bit different.

*LV 1  
*HP 2571/2600  
*AT 70  
*DF 100

You frowned. This system must not be set up to read the MP, the Magical Potential, in a Soul. You were glad. The concern that they'd be able to see Sans' magic in your Soul diminished a little more.

“Looks good!” Travis loudly praised, sending a grin your way. “Your HP is pretty high but that's a good thing. Most Souls with the Justice trait have really high stats in general. You've got a nice and strong Soul, (Y/N). It's really great to see that in someone so young.”

Frisk cleared their throat rather loudly. You glanced over to them. You missed the flush of color on Travis's face. “A-Anyway,” He continued, quickly turning back to the monitor and typing in several quick notes, “We've just got a few other small things to check then you'll be free to go.”

The rest of the visit went quickly and without any hiccups. The doctor had you try to trigger your magic to see if it effected your current stats, but you'd been far too nervous to be able to do anything more than a little zap of magic across your fingertips. No one mentioned the color being tinted more green than yellow.

\-----

“Well, that took forever.” You grumbled in the elevator beside Frisk. They reached over to press the button for the ground floor then stood back and leaned against the back wall as the doors slowly closed. There wasn't even any cliché elevator music to fill any silence.

“Yeah, but at least it's over,” Frisk tapped their left hand softly against their right arm. “And we don't have to come back for another month. That'll give us plenty of time to get your magic in shape.” They looked at you with a smug expression. You wondered what they were thinking.

“What...?”

“He was totally flirting with you.” They smirked. “The doctor. Travis?”

Your face burned. “He was not! B-Besides, even if he was, I'm not interested... what with the whole, you know... The Sans thing and whatnot...” You paused, a thought crossing your mind. “Hey, Frisk... you noticed my stats were different, yeah?”

Frisk looked surprised. “Well, yeah, stats fluctuate with your mental state. The only one that really stays stagnant is your HP.” They pushed off the back wall and stood by your side, your shoulders almost touching.

“But mine had changed. Do you think it's because of the bond with Sans?” You were a bit worried now. “And if _mine_ changed...”

“... Yeah.” Frisk confirmed quietly. “If yours changed then I think Sans' changed too.”


	16. Chapter 16

Toriel approached you the next day after you'd gotten home from your shift at Club Magenta. You arrived home around 6:30 AM, which was kind of odd since you usually got off much earlier. She had been getting ready to head out to work herself when you'd arrived home.

“Oh, (Y/N), dear! Welcome home.” Toriel warmly greeted you from the kitchen, pausing long enough from pouring the steaming tea from her kettle into a prepared thermos in order to greet you. You shrugged off your coat and draped it over the back of one of the dining room chairs, sending her a smile in return.

“Thanks, Tori. How're you this morning?” You sounded tired but relieved to be home. The sun hadn't risen yet but it was close to dawn – the light over the stove was on. Its soft yellow light paired with the slowly brightening blue haze coming in through the sheer curtains over the patio doors cast the room into somewhat of a dream-like glow.

“I'm doing well, dear. I trust work went alright?” You nodded. Toriel smiled and finished pouring her tea into the thermos, then screwed the lid securely onto it. “I have a favor to as of you, if you don't mind?”

“Sure, no problem. What's up?” You pulled one of the stools out from the outer side of the kitchen island and sat with a soft huff as you settled in. Toriel picked up an envelope from beside her thermos and handed it over to you. There's nothing written on the front but when you flip it over you see that it's been sealed with a circle of white wax pressed with the Delta Rune seal.

“Please deliver that to Grillby for me? I truly appreciate your assistance. Oh, and one other thing? Could you pick these up for me later? For supper.” She clarifies when give her a curious look. Ah. Your stomach, at the mention of food, quietly grumbles.

_Feed me_ , it demands angrily, _I know, I know_ , you respond even as your face heats in a blush. Toriel simply smiles. A moment later she moves to the pantry and gathers a pouch of Pop Tarts for you. You gratefully accept.

“Yeah, of course. No prob, Tori. I'll drop head to the store first then drop the letter off to Grillby. You can count on me!” You give her a playful salute. She laughs and gathers up a quick lunch to bring to work with her then slings her bag across her shoulders and grabs her thermos.

“See you tonight! Please remind Frisk that it's their turn to –“

“That it's their turn to do clean up after supper. Got'cha.” You pointed both hands at Toriel as fingerguns, clicked your tongue, and winked. She giggled. You ate your Pop Tarts as she left the house, the lock clicking behind her.

 

You weren't sure what Toriel was planning on making for dinner, but whatever it was had the most confusing ingredients. She'd specified which shops you'd need to go to for each ingredient – including the prices of each one and even coupons for ones that were on sale. Toriel was quite the savvy shopper. Your grocery bill had cut in half since she'd moved in! You didn't know how she did it but you were determined to figure it out.

The last shop you were in was a monster grocery store. Not many humans came to this part of town. It wasn't a bad area, it just didn't have that overly crowded _human_ feel to it. It was relaxed and comfortable, but you couldn't help but notice that the monsters around you were giving you a wide berth despite their politeness and welcoming smiles.

You supposed that was to be expected. Monsters might not be able to tell a human and a mage apart, but they instinctively gave you space. Until you got to know them, anyway.

It went both ways. You didn't really have anything against monsters as a whole, but you gave them as much space as they gave you. A spark of shame flared in your chest.

You began gathering Toriel's final ingredients a little faster.

“Annnnd, last thing on the list...” You slowed your cart to a stop in the small produce section right in front of a surprising variety of mushrooms. You recognized most of them but there was a shelf halfway down full of nothing but glowing fungi in all sorts of colors and sizes. Their shapes were all the same, like toadstools, just ranging from the size of a golf ball all the way up to one bigger than a grapefruit!

“I'm not sure mushrooms are supposed go _glow_ , but...”

“They're from Waterfall. It would be odd if they didn't glow.”

The voice startled you just as much as the sudden hand entering your vision. It plucked a package of the glowing mushrooms from the shelf and deposited them into a second shopping cart. You turned your head quickly and found yourself having to tip it upwards to see the face of the monster who spoke to you.

“Oh! I, uh... hello.” You sputtered, face heating at the thought that he had caught you talking to yourself. How embarrassing!

The brighter line of Grillby's mouth curved into a smile that distorted the softer yellow flames where his eyes would otherwise be. He was a bit surprised to see you here in this part of town, but it wasn't an unwelcome surprise...

“Hello. I suppose Toriel sent you all over town to find ingredients?” His smile widened and you wondered how a fire could smile. “Mm... she had Frisk do it before they enrolled in college. Seems the task has fallen to you.”

You cleared your throat. You hadn't met Grillby before but you knew of him. Of course you did – he was the one who was supposed to be helping Sans come up with a solution to your current predicament. You felt a sense of calm wash over you.

You suspected that it was because Sans was close friends with Grillby. His magic in your Soul most likely was recognizing the safety that Grillby represented. “Yeah, she did. Tori's a busy woman... doesn't _goat_ the time to do a lot of shopping during the week.” You snorted at your own stupid pun and tried to cover it with an awkward cough.

Grillby's smile dropped a bit. He didn't much care for puns but... “I can see why she likes you.” He said softly. His voice was warm and had a smokiness to it that made you think of a bonfire on a summer night. “I'm Grillby. You're (Y/N). It's nice to finally meet you in person.” He hesitated for just a moment but held his hand out to you and waited.

It was your turn to hesitate. Would he burn you? No. Of course he wouldn't. He might be literally made of fire but he would know how to control his own heat, right? Right! You slapped your palm to his before you could second-guess yourself.

Your skin immediately warmed on the contact and an energy you could only describe as _sizzling_ jumped between your connected hands. Grillby's shoulders visibly stiffened but his smile grew. His hand adjusted and his fingers curled against yours. A moment later you felt the heat of his lips press gently against your knuckles.

“I look forward to seeing you again.”

“Y-Yeah. You.. you, too...” You'd never been so easily flustered in your life! He was still smiling when he reached to the shelf again and grabbed another package of mushrooms to place in your cart. You hadn't realized you were still holding Toriel's list in your free hand until he tapped the bulleted product on it.

“Thanks... I'll... see you around?”

But he was already vanishing around into the next aisle and you were left with the feeling of fire kissing your knuckles and a sense that Toriel had known exactly what she'd been doing when she sent you to _this_ grocery store in particular.

Later, as you were loading your purchases into the trunk of your car, you realized that you hadn't even thought to give Grillby the letter from Toriel. Well... maybe you could drop it off tonight before work.

 

Okay, so you didn't get a chance to drop it off before work after all. You'd gotten home, put away the groceries, then gone up to the attic to put a few hours into your personal projects, most of which were just remixes of popular songs or your own original works. Nothing you were ready to share with the public yet, but they were coming along pretty well if you said so yourself (and you did).

For dinner, which Toriel insisted you sit with her and Frisk for instead of grabbing a container to bring with you to work, had been an odd sort of savory cobbler. It wasn't the best thing you'd ever eaten, but it wasn't bad either. You didn't have time to stay for dessert, but you promised Toriel that you'd be back before 2:30AM. She promised to save you a piece.

Frisk was quick to pack up a tupperware container with some of the leftovers and shoved it into your hands before you could leave though.

“Knowing you, you'll be hungry again in the middle of work, so here.” You accepted it with a quiet grumble, but you were smiling as you put it into your bag. A quick thanks for dinner (and the midnight snack) then you were out the door.

 

The Club was busting, as usual. Human mages danced and drank, some occupied the private rooms up on the second floor, and others loitered at the bar or at one of the tables around the dance floor. Monsters were even mixed into the crowd, mingling and laughing and drinking far more alcohol than they realistically should be able to.

Where did it all go?! It was like human liquor did absolutely nothing for them.

It probably didn't, actually. You eyed one of the few monsters dancing, watching how they twirled their human dance partner in a wide circle then pull them in close. They looked somewhat... familiar... but in the haze of flashing lights and mix of bodies grinding together it was difficult to figure out if you'd actually seen them before.

Whatever... probably just a regular here. You'd likely seen them a thousand times and just never paid much attention to them.

It likely wasn't important anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been sitting on this chapter for about 2 weeks now, but I've been stuck on the ending of it. I feel like it's too short? Just under 1800 words; I usually try to go for at least 2k.. and I wanted to add another scene to this but I couldn't find a good way to integrate it into the chapter. So hopefully next chapter will have that and some Sans/Reader/Grillby interaction! Thanks for your patience!
> 
> Check out my [Tumblr](https://drhughgrection.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> I also opened a new blog for Undertale imagines/scenes/drabbles. So if you'd like to drop an Ask over there, [check it out](https://drabbletales.tumblr.com/)! Nothing posted on it yet, but I'm super eager to write up some stuff for you guys! Including NSFW, of course. :P


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo, boy... Long time no see, guys! Sorry it took so long. Literally been sitting on this once for like 2 weeks, writing a few sentences here and there, but work's been insane, you would not *believe*! Just yesterday I had a 36 dozen donut order for a church then a 6 dozen donut order for another dude... on top of the usual 300+ donuts I do on Mondays. And with a lot of high schools getting ready for graduation in the next few months, I only expect my work load to continue to grow.
> 
> Starbound is also on haitus until further notice. I still have plans for it, but I want this story to take priority, even if it means only one chapter a month or so.
> 
> Also! I GOT FANART! WOO! :D
> 
> [ Drawn by the amazing ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/437d68dbda249a1adb2b0d1aa3370b51/tumblr_messaging_p5szgc6pqN1s1lwnp_1280.jpg</a)[NopersDopers](http://nopersdopers.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr! Check out their stuff, it's _fantastic_!

Sans had been spending more time at Grillby's than usual – which was saying something, since he was already pretty much a permanent fixture there. He even had his name engraved into the leg of his favorite stool at the bar.

It was, as expected, all lowercase comic-sans. Real classy.

“The usual tonight, Sans?” Grillby's voice crackled through his flames. The barman came to a stop in front of Sans on the business side of the bar, his hands busy with a wine glass that he'd already washed and dried several times over.

Sans thought to himself that if Grillby wiped it down any more he'd end up eroding right through the glass. He kept the thought private.

“yeah, the usual sounds pretty good... extra ketchup.”

“Extra ketchup on your extra ketchup.” Grillby wasn't surprised. He reached beneath the counter to grab a bottle of ketchup and plunked it down in front of the stout skeleton before turning and disappearing through the door leading to the kitchens in the back.

As soon as Grillby was gone, Fuku moved over to take his place. Sans gave her his usual grin and leaned his forearms on the counter. One hand curved around the red bottle and the other twisted the white aluminum cap off. Fuku reached forward to collect it.

“So, Sans, you still up for... I mean.. are we still on for tomorrow?” Fuku's voice was softer than Grillby's with more of a feminine quality to it. It was nice to listen to.

“is that tomorrow?” he responded, hiding his playful smirk behind the ketchup. Of course he hadn't forgotten about their date. He laughed when she flicked the cap at him, her green flames flickering higher atop her head in annoyance. “'ey, no worries. Yeah, we're still on... unless you got something better to do than to go out with this ol' bag of bones.”

Fuku's green flames burned brighter. She glanced to the kitchen door for a moment. “Great! Great... see you tomorrow at the usual time then.” She sent him a smile and a wink then hurried around the bar just as Grillby came back from the kitchen with a plate covered in steaming fries and a burger that took up half the space on it.

“So... About (Y/N)...”

 

There had been a sense of dread coiling in your stomach for over an hour. It had started not too long before the end of your shift. At first it had only been a nagging sensation in the back of your mind. You know that feel you get when you knew you were forgetting something but just couldn't figure out what? No matter how hard you tried? Yeah, like that.

Except now, almost an hour later, it was full on unease with a side of nausea and headache. You couldn't shake it no matter how what you did. The feeling got worse the farther you drove until, quite suddenly, it came to a head and you slammed on the breaks just before you drove through an intersection at a green light.

The car radio shorted out to distorted static.

Your vision flashed white for only a moment – the same white of the huge truck that barreled through the intersection not even two seconds later, going much, _much_ faster than the speed limit allowed.

“Holy shit!” You exclaimed, hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly that your knuckles popped. Your car idled there at the light for several minutes as you went over what just happened. If you'd kept driving through your green light, that truck would have slammed into your car. How fast had he been going? Sixty? Seventy? The speed limit on this stretch of road was only forty.

Your car, while sturdy, would have crumpled like a soda can from that kind of impact. If the impact didn't kill you then the injuries you'd surely have from it would have.

You didn't proceed onward until the lights had cycled through twice more. The rest of the drive to Grillby's only took ten minutes, but it was the longest ten minutes of your life. You'd turned off the radio halfway there. The static had passed as soon as the truck had, but the sound was looping in your mind, making it impossible to listen to anything else and keeping you on edge until you had finally pulled into the small parking lot for Grillby's customers.

Part of you wanted to just go straight home. Another part of you wanted a shot.

The desire for a good drink was stronger than your desire to just drive home. Plus, you told yourself, you still had to deliver Toriel's letter! What was the harm in having a drink while you were here? You glanced at the glowing blue time on the radio display. Just a little after 2 AM.

You didn't take your bag in with you. You tucked it into the center console after fishing out the white envelope from an inner pocket. It, along with your keys, were both tucked into the zippered pocket on the inside of your jacket after stepping out of the car and locking it up.

The outside of the bar was what you expected. Actually, you felt a wave of familiarity wash through you as you paused on the sidewalk just outside the door and looked up at the neon sign above. It looked exactly the same as the one in your dream. The one where you and Sans had been in Snowdin... the Snowdin that had been abandoned and silent.

A bell above the door chimed quietly as you entered. The first thing you noticed was the scent of something savory permeating the air. The second thing you noticed was the warmth as it wrapped around you and lured you in farther. The third thing was Grillby standing behind the bar, locked in quiet conversation with...

“Sans?”

The skeleton in question jumped in his seat, clearly not expecting to encounter you here. Whatever he and Grillby had been discussing must have been pretty serious if neither of them had even noticed you enter the building.

The music from the jukebox in the corner (you had the thought that the last time you'd seen it had been years ago and that it had been in a state of disrepair – you weren't sure why you had that thought, but there it was) was quiet and almost jazzy in tune. Not really your particular taste, but not unpleasant either. Definitely better than the static your radio had cut to.

“(y/n),” Sans turned on his seat and leaned his weight against the bar, “what're you doing here so late?” His hand curled around a bottle that surprisingly wasn't ketchup. You hadn't pegged Sans as a beer kind of guy. Then again, a martini was too classy for him.

You eased onto the stool beside the skeleton, shrugging. You reached into your jacket to retrieve the envelope which you then offered over the counter to Grillby.

“Toriel asked me to drop this off to you.” You told Grillby, waiting for him to take it before withdrawing your hand and adjusting the sunglasses you wore. It wasn't the best idea to be wearing them so late but you were still coming to terms with the whole eye thing. Sans had already seen it, but Grillby hadn't and for some reason you weren't sure you really wanted him to.

You doubted he'd judge you for it, but...

“Oh?” Grillby asked, already gently prying open the seal on the back. You crossed your arms on the edge of the counter and shrugged again.

“Yeah. She didn't tell me what it was, just asked me to deliver it. I, uh... would've given it to you at the grocery store, but... y'know.”

Sans glanced from Grillby to you then tipped his beer back and drained the bottle in two audible gulps. He caught your eye when he finished and flashed you a smirk.

“What?” He tapped the bottom edge of the emptied bottle on the counter softly, but kept it in his grasp.

“Nothing!” You quickly averted your attention. Sans wasn't fooled – he knew what you were thinking.

“Don't worry,” Grillby tucked Toriel's letter into the internal pocket of his vest, drawing both yours and Sans's eyes to him. “I've known Sans for years and I still don't know where his food and drink goes.”

“Well,” You heard his shit-eating grin before you saw it. “I'd say it goes right through me, but...”

_Pfft!_ You swatted at him half-heartedly; he leaned back at the last second and deftly avoided the swing. A flash of ~~memory~~ dream from weeks ago triggered in the back of your mind. A slash of silver, a swipe of red.

The faded mark on your chest twinged uncomfortably... and by the suddenly extinguished lights in Sans' sockets, you knew that he'd also felt it.

“Hey Grillby, does that jukebox work?” You jumped up from your seat and jerked your thumb in its direction. You pointedly avoided looking at Sans, even if you could feel his eyelights boring into your back.

The elemental looked over to the jukebox and gave a slow nod. “Sure... but it's late and technically the bar closed...” He pushed his sleeve up to glance at his watch. “Ten minutes ago.”

“Oh... Uh... Sorry for overstaying. Guess I'll have to come back another night to test it out.” You gave him an apologetic smile, a hand coming up to rub awkwardly at the nape of your neck.

“Of course... Maybe next week?” He spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully. “I'd be happy to have you come in for dinner. Sing a few songs... have a couple drinks?”

Sans was forgotten now as you realized that Grillby was...

“Grillby. Are you asking me out?”

His flames burned brighter and tiny sparks popped above his head. His cheeks tinted a soft blue. “Ah.. Yes, I suppose I am. May I?”

A smile curled your lips.

“It's a date.”


End file.
